Next month Ukraine will get military equipment for battlefield advantage – Lloyd Austin 

He said this during a press conference broadcast on Espreso TV. 

“A year ago, we held the first meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, with the aim of improving coordination of assistance to Ukraine to deter and repel Russian aggression. Over the past year, these meetings have become an extraordinary way of working together, and we are fighting together for freedom and sovereignty. After this year, we can conclude that we have succeeded in forming a powerful partnership,” the US Secretary of Defense said. 

Lloyd Austin noted that as a result of the work of the Ramstein Contact Group, Ukraine was provided with what it asked for and what the allies could provide, including air defense systems, HIMARS and other heavy artillery.

“Our collective efforts have dramatically changed the situation on the battlefield. The Contact Group has provided more than 232 tanks, over 1,000 armored vehicles and other equipment for mechanized brigades. In the coming months, we will continue to increase Ukraine's military capabilities, and we will also prepare further training for the Ukrainian military. I am confident that the equipment that will be delivered to Ukraine next month will give the Ukrainian Armed Forces an advantage on the battlefield. We are now talking about coordinating the work of more than 50 countries united for the sake of Ukraine. We also understand what processes should be in place to ensure uninterrupted logistics and maintenance of equipment coming from different countries. We also discussed how to strengthen our industrial initiatives. Many participants of today's meeting supported the proposal to provide ammunition for air defense and other heavy weapons. Today, we heard from the EU proposals to speed up the production and supply of ammunition for Ukraine,” Austin said.

• On April 21, Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin met before a meeting of the Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base.