Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., are scheduled to host the 24th edition of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group tomorrow at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, the Pentagon announced today.

The UDCG, a coalition composed of more than 50 nations that meets regularly to discuss Ukraine’s security needs, first met in April 2022 as a result of Austin’s efforts to assemble the group after Russia invaded Ukraine two months prior.  

“At Ramstein, [Austin and Brown] will bring together ministers of defense and senior military officials from some 50 nations to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend its people from Russian aggression,” Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.  

Singh said key areas of focus for this month’s UDCG will include bolstering Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, energizing the defense industrial bases of coalition nations to enable support to Ukraine for the long term and updates on the UDCG’s capability coalitions — to include the Air Force coalition. 

“As Secretary Austin has said, Ukraine matters to U.S. and international security, and the efforts of the UDCG continue to play a vital role in Ukraine’s fight for freedom and sovereignty,” Singh said.

During the briefing, Singh also provided an update on the Defense Department’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza, noting that the motor vessel Cape Trinity has completed its offload of approximately 6 million pounds of humanitarian aid in the Israeli port city of Ashdod. 

“The 6 million pounds of aid delivered this week brings the grand total of aid delivered to the people of Gaza through maritime and air corridors to more than 38 million pounds,” Singh said. “This effort represents the highest volume of humanitarian assistance the U.S. military has ever delivered in the Middle East.” 

Since Cape Trinity has completed its aid delivery, the vessel will prepare, over the next couple of days, for its return trip to the Port of Beaumont, Texas, Singh added.

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