We will discuss "aircraft coalition" and repair hubs at new Ramstein meeting - Ukraine’s Defense Minister Reznikov

He wrote about this on Telegram. 

“During the meeting, we will discuss the 'aircraft coalition' details. In this case, we are talking about training pilots and not only pilots, but also our technicians and engineers who will be engaged in aircraft maintenance,” Reznikov said.

The Minister of Defense noted that an important issue is the opening of various types of hubs for the repair and equipment. Such hubs should exist both on the territory of Ukraine and in friendly border countries.

Reznikov also said that such issues will be discussed with teams from the defense ministries of the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States and other countries that have joined the 'aircraft coalition.' He also named who will be part of the Ukrainian delegation - representatives of the Air Force. For this purpose, the Air Force commander, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, has assigned officers in charge of pilot training and logistics.

The minister also added that the provision of air defense, munitions, and artillery to Ukraine remains unchanged in the discussion.

“Our priorities have not changed. This war is a war of resources. Resources mean not only weapons, but also the ability to repair, maintain and everything else related to them,” he said.

The next meeting of the defense ministers of Ukraine's allies in the Ramstein format, where they will discuss military assistance to Ukraine, will take place on Thursday, June 15, in Brussels.

What is known about the Ramstein format meeting

Ramstein is a series of diplomatic meetings of defense ministers from several dozen countries to synchronize and accelerate the provision of military weapons to Ukraine to counter a full-scale Russian invasion and to discuss support for Ukraine after the war.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 12 meetings have already taken place. At the last one, on May 25, participants discussed the search for additional air defense systems for Kyiv, training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, and the creation of a new Leopard tank maintenance center. The participating countries also devoted time to strengthening Ukraine's defense, including the supply of 155 mm caliber shells, air defense systems, radars, and other ammunition.

The coalition to train the Ukrainian Armed Forces on F-16s would be led by Denmark and the Netherlands. In total, the list of countries that have offered to train Ukrainian pilots includes: Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Poland.

General Mark Milley also emphasized that in the future, F-16s will play an important role in the Ukrainian Air Force, but it will take a significant amount of time to build up an air force of the required size and capacity.