Photo: media / t.me/V_Zelensky_official
On Thursday, 10 April, Brussels will host a key meeting of defence ministers of the “Coalition of the Willing”, which brings together states ready to provide strong support to Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. The meeting will be co-chaired by theUK Defence Secretary John Healey and the French Defence Minister, the UK government said.
The next day, 11 April, Gili will participate with the German Minister of Defence in a meeting of the Contact Group on Ukraine’s Defence (Ramstein format), which is expected to be attended by more than 50 partner countries.
“Ministers will discuss further steps to strengthen security to prevent a new wave of Russian aggression. The discussion will build on the military planning of recent weeks and participants will assess the possibility of contributing capabilities to the future defence posture,” the British government said in a statement.
An important topic of the talks will be new mechanisms for supporting Ukraine, including long-term commitments to supply weapons, military equipment and training for the Ukrainian military.
As part of the preparations for the meeting, the UK Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Tony Radakin, recently visited Kyiv to hold talks with his Ukrainian and French counterparts. During the meeting, the parties discussed the structure, size and composition of a potential security force in Ukraine.
The “Coalition of the Willing” is an informal association of states that demonstrate political will and military readiness to help Ukraine in its struggle for sovereignty and stability in Europe.
This meeting will be another step towards creating an international mechanism to deter Russia, as well as institutionalising support for Ukraine for years to come, both militarily and strategically.
