FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov looks on during a press conference with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson at Karlberg Palace in Stockholm, Sweden November 22, 2024. TT News Agency/Jessica Gow via REUTERS/File Photo
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said timely weapons deliveries and joint projects with European partners were on the agenda for Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
The meeting will be chaired by the British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey. The grouping of some 50 nations, formed after Russia launched the full-scale invasion in 2022 and sometimes referred to as the Ramstein Group after the U.S. air base in Germany where it first met, has previously been led by the United States.
In addition to talking about the need to accelerate air defence, aviation and ammunition shipments, Umerov said he planned to discuss increasing the volume of European-produced arms supplies and expanding Ukrainian production.
The newly appointed U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who will also participate in the meeting, said on Tuesday that he would push European allies to spend more on defence.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Alex Richardson)
