New US arms package for Ukraine, meeting being prepared in Germany

(Patria) - The United States is expected to announce a $500 million military aid package for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which consists of about fifty allies who usually meet every few months at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, was launched in 2022 by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to accelerate and synchronize arms deliveries to Kyiv.

The future of the group is unclear as President-elect Donald Trump is set to take office on January 20. Trump's advisors have put forward proposals to end the war in Ukraine that would cede large parts of the country to Russia in the foreseeable future.

Washington has committed more than $63.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's invasion, with an additional $500 million, a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

On Thursday, defense leaders will meet at Ramstein Air Base for the 25th UDCG meeting.

“We are not disbanding the group. The next administration is fully welcome and encouraged... to pick up the mantle of this fifty-country group and continue to lead it and lead through it,” a senior US defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It will endure in some capacity, in some form going forward, I believe, regardless of how the next team does or does not do it,” he said.

Trump will have several billion dollars in set-aside money that he could use for Ukraine's military needs when he takes office.

The official added that the meeting on Thursday will seek to support roadmaps for Ukraine's military needs and goals through 2027.

Ukraine said on Tuesday that its forces were “launching new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region. Ukraine first seized part of the Kursk region in a surprise incursion last August, and has held territory there for five months. The escalation of fighting in Kursk comes at a critical moment for Kyiv, whose troops are struggling to repel Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.