US to not chair February Ramstein-format meeting in place of US – media

The next meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein Group) will take place on 12 February, though the United Kingdom will chair it in place of the United States.

Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, citing sources familiar with the matter, reports that the upcoming Ramstein-format meeting will be chaired by the UK. The reason for this change has not been specified.

It is also unknown whether the meeting will take place online or offline.

The US-led Ramstein format was established in the spring of 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to coordinate military assistance to Kyiv. It has brought together more than 50 countries.

The last in-person meeting of the Contact Group was held on 9 January.

At that time, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov confirmed that the next Ramstein-format meeting had been agreed upon and was scheduled for February.

Meanwhile, Polish Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz suggested that the 9 January meeting could have been the last.