Shmyhal at Ramstein: Ukraine urgently needs ten Patriot systems and missiles for them
At the 30th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense (in the Rammstein format), Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal called on partners to transfer Patriot systems and missiles for Patriot, Sampte, NASAMS, IRIS-T, and Hawk to Ukraine.
"We still need an additional 10 Patriot systems and missiles for the Patriot, Sampte, NASAMS, IRIS-T and Hawk systems. This is urgent, as Russia is planning further strikes on our energy system and infrastructure," Shmyhal said during a Ramstein meeting on Tuesday.
Separately, the minister stressed the importance of continuing to carry out long-range strikes to continue putting pressure on Russian military production and military targets.
The head of the Ukrainian defense department emphasized that "while we are discussing peace talks, conditions, security guarantees, the Kremlin rejects any proposals for a ceasefire and continues the escalation."
In particular, he noted that last Saturday, the Russian Federation again killed Ukrainian children and civilians during an attack on Ukraine. In addition, as Shmyhal noted, "three hours ago, Putin struck the village of Yarova in Donetsk region, directly hitting a group of pensioners who came to collect their pensions." He noted that on Monday, the Russian Federation began winter terror, knocking out the largest thermal power plant in Kyiv region with 49 drones.
"Our response must be based on force," the minister urged.
The 30th meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defence (Ramstein) in a hybrid format kicked off on Tuesday evening. In London, UK Defence Secretary John Healey and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal are present. Other participants joined the meeting online.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal reported that he and his department's team arrived in London for a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine's Defense Ramstein and that a series of negotiations with officials from partner countries and private manufacturers were also planned.