Pistorius: EU will ramp up military support for Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Europeans will increase military support for Ukraine.

Reuters reported on this.

The German Minister stated this on November 25 after discussing with his British, French, Italian, and Polish counterparts the increase in defense efforts following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

“Our target must be to enable Ukraine to act out of a position of strength,” Boris Pistorius told reporters in Berlin after hosting a meeting of the Group of Five leading nations in European defense.

Reuters notes that the election of Trump – who is skeptical of U.S. support for Ukraine – has added pressure on Europe to step up its role in arming Kyiv should Washington, the biggest donor so far, reduce its aid.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz echoed Pistorius’ pledge of more aid for Kyiv.

The German defense minister also added that the NATO mission will take over the coordination of Western military assistance to Ukraine in January.

An additional meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group may take place in December, with high-level talks as one option.

General Christian Freuding, Head of the Special Staff for Ukraine at the German Ministry of Defense, stated this in Kyiv, according to Evropeiska Pravda.

According to the German general, negotiations are currently underway on the format of this meeting, and the possibility of holding a meeting at the level of leaders, that is, with the participation of US President Joe Biden, is also being considered.

Germany has recently transferred a significant military aid package to Ukraine, including artillery, air defense systems, armored vehicles, and more.

The EU countries delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the 1 million ammunition promised in March 2023. In total, by the end of the year, EU countries will have supplied more than 1.5 million shells to Ukraine.