US Def Sec Austin To Lead 'Ramstein Format' Ukr Talks In Brussels

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will lead the third meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on June 15.

• The group is the most significant coordination of military support for Ukraine and is expected to involve defence and military leaders from over 40 countries.
• The meeting will take place within the format devised at the Ramstein military base in April.
• The meeting comes as political will for Ukraine military aid appears to be suffering a drop in bipartisan support amongst US lawmakers following the passage of a USD$40 billion aid package last month.
• The Pentagon said it is 'confident in the Ukrainian government’s ability to appropriately safeguard and account for transferred U.S.-origin defense equipment,' and said that Austin has stressed the importance of 'accountability' to Ukrainian defence secretary Oleksii Reznikov.
• The Brussels meeting will conclude with a joint press conference from Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Mark Milley.