After a meeting of the 50-nation Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Wednesday, Umerov said the gathering agreed in principle to launch a “Ramstein Investment for Industries” scheme, under which every item manufactured abroad during the war would be sent to Ukraine.
“Our partners said they are willing to fully pay for all the production from these factories,” he told reporters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said Kyiv needs about USD 30 billion to cover its defense-manufacturing shortfall.
Big pledges from Britain, Germany
British Defense Secretary John Healey called the Brussels session “a powerful demonstration of our enduring help for Ukraine,” saying European and non-European partners had tabled “multi-billion-euro commitments.”
Britain plans to raise funding for its Ukraine training mission by 20 percent to nearly £250 million (USD 338 million), and increase drone deliveries to Kyiv 10-fold.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius congratulated Umerov on a recent drone strike that destroyed Russian bombers and said Berlin would finance long-range weapons manufactured in Ukraine, with first deliveries due before year-end.
Germany will also bolster Ukrainian air defenses with additional systems, ammunition and spare parts.
“These steps strengthen both your military and your industrial capabilities,” Pistorius said.
Umerov said the initiative, still awaiting a formal name and governance rules, would allow Ukrainian firms to set up production lines in partner countries, while also enabling companies from Contact Group members to build plants inside Ukraine.
He added that Kyiv was working on a homegrown substitute for Chinese DJI Mavic reconnaissance drones, which have become harder to buy.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, often dubbed the Ramstein Group after the US air base where it first met in 2022, now comprises more than 50 nations coordinating arms deliveries and training for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP, Reuters