Ramstein 11 has taken place. What has been agreed on?

The meeting of the contact group, which includes about 50 countries, was traditionally held at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany under the chairmanship of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley.

Prior to the meeting, Austin held a bilateral conversation with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. He announced that the main topics of the meeting would be air defense, ammunition, and supplies.

Reznikov also emphasized the creation of a multi-level air defense system: "Patriots, IRIS-T, NASAMS, and MiG-29 are the most recent, but not the final, steps towards this goal."

What about aviation?

The United States was reluctant to talk about modern Western fighters. General Mark Milley noted that the issue of F-16s or any other fourth-generation aircraft of any country "is a political one" and will be put forward by political leaders.

Milley added that there are different ways to control airspace, and the most favorable and effective for Ukraine right now is air defense.

"As for the planes themselves, it takes a long time to train pilots, etc., and the Russians have significant air power. If you take the Ukrainian air force as it is today and build it up to the level of the Russian air force, it is a significant level of effort for many countries, and these political choices may or may not be made in the future. We'll see where it goes," Milley said.

Following the meeting, Pentagon Secretary Austin told reporters that the partners believe that Ukraine needs ground-based air defense the most. Ammunition is critically important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces: for air defense systems, tanks, armored vehicles, other ammunition, and spare parts, Milley stated.

What about tanks?

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that the United States will begin training Ukrainian military personnel to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks.

First of all, this concerns training on tanks that will arrive in Germany. They will be used to train crews on how to fire, maneuver, and maintain the vehicles while other Abrams tanks (more capable) are being repaired to speed up their delivery. The plan is that when the repaired Abrams arrive in Germany, the crews will already be trained and know how to use them alongside the Bradley IFVs.

"You know, I'm biased with regard to the M1 Abrams tank, but I think it's the best tank in the world. There are other tanks that are quite good. There are, for example, Leopard tanks. But I think that the M1 tank, when it is delivered, will play its role," said Milley.

However, he added that "there is no silver bullet in war" and the outcome of battles depends on many variables.

In addition, a meeting of the "tank coalition" — the countries that are supplying tanks to Ukraine — was held within the framework of Ramstein. Reznikov said that a letter of intent was signed to establish a maintenance hub for Ukraine's Leopard 2 battle tanks in Poland.

What new assistance has been announced?

Following Ramstein 11, there were few official announcements about what kind of aid Ukraine would receive. For example, Portugal will provide Ukraine with five armored vehicles.

Canada is transferring 3.3 million liters of fuel, modular crossings, medical kits, 40 .50 caliber sniper rifles, ammunition from PGW Defense Technologies Inc. including spare parts; 16 L3 Harris radio sets to accompany Leopard 2 tanks.

Estonia will send Ukraine 155-mm rounds as a contribution to the EU's one-million package of ammunition for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Additionally, the country will provide night vision devices and 5.56 mm ammunition. Besides, the Ministries of Defense of Ukraine and Estonia signed a memorandum of cooperation.

Israel plans to test an advanced missile warning system in Kyiv in May.

The United States announced a new $325 million military aid package for Ukraine on the eve of Ramstein.

In total, Washington reported that Ramstein partners have provided Ukraine with more than 230 tanks, over 1,550 armored vehicles, and other equipment and ammunition to support nine new brigades.