Outgoing U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will create a plan to shore up Ukraine's military through to 2027 with Kyiv's key allies, including NATO countries, this week, U.S. defense officials said on Tuesday.
Why It Matters
Ukraine's future remains uncertain. Officials in Kyiv and across NATO alike wait with bated breath to see how incoming president Donald Trump will change Washington's provisions of military aid. The president-elect has said he will cut aid to Ukraine and move quickly to end the near three-year long full-scale war.
Kyiv is heavily dependent on its allies to sustain its grinding war effort against Moscow. U.S. military aid accounts for roughly half of what Ukraine receives from its backers.
Officials in Kyiv and countries on NATO's eastern flank are concerned that a Trump-brokered ceasefire to Europe's largest land conflict since World War II could come at Ukraine's expense and that of the alliance countries close to Russia. Trump has said he has good relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.
What to Know
Two senior U.S. defense officials told reporters on Tuesday that Austin will meet with leaders in charge of supporting various different parts of Ukraine's military.
Many of Ukraine's backers, falling under what is known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, are due to meet at the U.S. military's Ramstein air base in western Germany on Thursday. Within the group, there are officials from across NATO in charge of more specific capabilities, known as coalitions.
The officials will "map out Ukraine's defense capabilities in support of building a credible deterrent force through 2027," the Pentagon said.
"The leaders of these coalitions will need to endorse roadmaps that articulate Ukraine's air force, armor, artillery, de-mining, drone, integrated air and missile defense, information technology and maritime security needs and objectives through 2027," a defense official said. "These roadmaps are intended to enable donors to plan for and support Ukraine sustainably into the future."
The Thursday meeting will be Austin's final as Secretary of Defense before the new administration takes over.
A defense official said the Pentagon was not "sunsetting" the contact group, adding its work would continue after January 20.
European NATO countries are broadly pushing to increase their own military capabilities after decades of reliance on the U.S. for some vital and expensive assets, like surveillance. Officials had floated continental NATO members pulling the Ukraine Defense Contact Group a little away from the U.S. as Trump's campaign gained traction last year.
Who Said What
A senior defense official told the media on Tuesday that "the leaders of these coalitions will need to endorse roadmaps that articulate Ukraine's air force, armor, artillery, de-mining, drone, integrated air and missile defense, information technology and maritime security needs and objectives through 2027."
Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, at Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at Ramstein air base in September 2024: "You all know that we are operating with a minimum of weaponry [...] We need more weapons to drive Russian forces off our land and especially in the Donetsk region."
What Happens Next
The leaders are set to meet on Thursday to hash out the details, and it remains to be seen how the incoming administration steers the provision of military aid for Ukraine.
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