The Diplomat
The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, spoke yesterday about the coordination of military support to Ukraine and the urgent need to make new shipments of equipment to this country.
Robles and Austin held a video conference yesterday at the request of the US Secretary of Defense with the aim of coordinating their approaches and positions ahead of the next ministerial meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group (UDCG), which will be held in Ramstein ( Germany) next Tuesday, March 19.
During the interview, according to the Ministry of Defense, Austin recognized “the agility, quality and breadth of Spanish military assistance to Ukraine” and valued the “humanitarian and training support” of the Spanish armed forces. “It is a set of supports that Spain is committed to maintaining and strengthening as much as possible, not only while the Russian invasion lasts, but beyond, to also help ensure the future reconstruction of the Ukrainian Armed and Security Forces,” added the Department directed by Margarita Robles.
Next, both ministers exchanged information and assessments about the current situation on the ground and debated the most necessary weapons and ammunition systems, given “the urgency of making new shipments of equipment.”
At the last meeting of the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine (the ‘Ramstein format’, convened by Lloyd Austin himself), held in mid-February, Robes reported that Spain will participate in six Capabilities Coalitions and announced the departure towards Ukraine of military vehicles (TOA, firefighting, snow plows and personnel transport) and various weapons for anti-aircraft defense, air-to-air operations and naval operations, among other material.
