US announces more aid to Ukraine as Zelensky calls on NATO to deploy troops to ‘force Russia to peace’

Ramstein Air Base, Germany – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would open a “new chapter” and reiterated a call for Western allies to send troops to help “force Russia to peace.” He made the appeal as the Biden administration announced what will likely be its last major military aid package for Ukraine — a promise of arms and other support worth $500 million.

Zelensky spoke during a meeting of about 50 US allies at the US Army’s Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the last such gathering before Trump takes office on January 20. His imminent return to the White House has cast doubt on future American support for Trump. Ukraine’s war effortgiven the above Favorable feedback About Russia’s authoritarian President Vladimir Putin Trump has vowed to quickly end the war nearly three years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion.

While he has given no clear indication of how he intends to achieve this, many in Ukraine and across Europe worry that Trump may make good on his promise by withholding aid to Ukraine and Europe. Zelensky pushed to negotiate a truce Which allows Russia to maintain its control over some of the vast lands it occupied in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

“It is clear that a new chapter will begin for Europe and the whole world – just 11 days from now, a time when we must cooperate more, rely on each other more, and achieve greater results together,” Zelensky said. He saw it as a “time of opportunity.”

As the brutal war approaches its third year, arriving on February 24, Zelensky repeated a call for Western allies to send troops to help Ukraine.

“Our goal is to find as many tools as possible to force Russia to peace,” he said at the meeting. “I think such a deployment of partner units is one of the best tools.”

The United States under President Joe Biden has been Ukraine’s largest wartime supporter, providing more than $65 billion in military aid since February 2022. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – who launched the Ramstein formula shortly after the war began – announced the aid package. New military on Thursday.

The aid, which includes a wide range of missiles, weapons and other equipment, as well as allocations for services, training and transportation, will be the 74th package provided from the existing US military stockpile to Ukraine since Mr. Biden took office. The ministry said in a statement.

“The United States and more than 50 countries stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the statement.

During the opening of the twenty-fifth meeting of the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, Austin said that Ukraine’s war against invading Russian forces “concerns all of us.” “We all have a stake in ensuring that dictators cannot put their imperial ambitions before the fundamental rights of free, sovereign peoples.”

European Union Foreign Policy Coordinator Kaja Kallas expressed her hope that the United States would continue its support for Ukraine. If not, she added, the European Union is ready to take the initiative.

“I’m really sure that all the other members, and I hope the United States as well, is ready to continue support for Ukraine,” Callas said as she headed to the Ramstein meeting.

At this point, she told reporters, “we shouldn’t really speculate” about future US support. But she said, “It is not in America’s interest for Russia to become the most powerful power in the world.”

But she added, “The European Union is also prepared to assume this leadership if the United States is not prepared to do so.”

Russian and Ukrainian forces are now present They engaged in fierce fightinglooking to secure their positions on the battlefield before Trump’s inauguration.

Trump has long criticized NATO allies for spending too little on the bloc’s common defense. This week, he raised more concerns than before He refused to rule out military action to take control of GreenlandIt is an autonomous region belonging to Denmark, a member of the European Union and NATO, and is subject to American control, along with the Panama Canal.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said allies needed to help Ukraine reach a position of strength before any eventual ceasefire or peace talks.

He added: “We have to put Ukraine in the best possible position, so that one day, when talks begin at the initiative of Ukraine on how to resolve this conflict, they will be in the best possible position to do so.” “And then when these talks are over, it will be looked at, to some extent, whether it’s a good deal or not. And if it’s not a good deal, it will be watched by the Chinese, the North Koreans, Iran, and obviously Russia.”

“The whole world is watching,” Rutte stressed.