Ukraine needs $6 bln to close this year's arms procurement deficit - Shmyhal
Ukraine needs $6 billion to close this year's arms procurement deficit, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said at the 29th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (in the Ramstein format).
"Ukraine needs $6 billion to close this year's procurement deficit. This will allow us to create more FPV drones to hold the front line, more interceptor drones to counter attacks by Shaheds, and additional deep strike weapons to turn the war back to Russia," he said at the meeting in the Ramstein format.
Shmyhal also stressed the need to prepare for 2026 and called on partners to allocate funds for Ukraine in their 2026 budgets.
"Secure loans are another critical source of funding for next year, and we need to ensure that Ukraine is included in this program," he noted.
The 29th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group is taking place online on Monday, July 21, under the leadership of the United Kingdom and Germany.
More than 50 of Ukraine's partners joined the meeting, including the NATO Secretary General, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and the US Secretary of Defense, as well as dozens of Alliance and partner countries.
Ukraine is represented by Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, for whom this is the first time participating in Ramstein. In addition, present next to him is Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov, who until recently was the Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Also present are the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andriy Hnatov.
