(Reuters) – The U.S. and Ukrainian defense chiefs on Monday discussed Russia’s use of new ballistic missiles, preparations for the next meeting of arms donors and plans for Washington’s military aid next year, both sides said.
The meeting came as the U.S. said it will send Kyiv $725 million of missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, as President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration seeks to bolster Kyiv before leaving office.
“Secretary (of Defense Lloyd) Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and Unmanned Aerial Systems targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which marks another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the Pentagon’s press secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, said in a statement.
In late November, Russia fired a hypersonic Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in response to the U.S. and UK’s allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons, in a further escalation of the 33-month-old war.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the call also focused on “strategic planning for 2025, particularly regarding the supply of weapons, equipment, and equipping of our units.”
With the U.S. strategy on Ukraine likely to change when President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20., Kyiv is concerned that aid from Washington – Ukraine’s largest supporter in its fight against Russia – will diminish significantly.
Umerov also said he discussed with Austin preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Ramstein Group, an alliance of NATO, the European Union and countries that have supported Kyiv.
Umerov did not say when the meeting would take place. Ukrainian media, including the European Pravda online newspaper, reported that the meeting may take place in December.
It would be likely the last meeting of Kyiv’s allies before Trump takes office.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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