Almost three years of war of aggression: Ukraine meeting in Ramstein – Will Trump continue the format?

Zelensky announced talks about further arms deliveries. “The key task for Ukraine is to strengthen our air defense, to at least enable Ukraine to keep the Russian air force away from our cities and borders,” said the head of state in his daily video message. Geplant seien neben Unterredungen im sogenannten “Ramstein-Format” auch bilaterale Gespräche.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin invited the members of the so-called Ukraine Contact Group to the conference. This includes Germany. Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), NATO general secretary Mark Rutte and EU foreign representative Kaja Kallas are expected. According to Selenskyj, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umjerow was already in Germany on Wednesday and had discussions. As at previous meetings in Ramstein, Palatinate, representatives from states that are not members of NATO are also expected.

According to media reports, the announcement of a final new package of US military aid before the change of power in Washington on January 20th is also expected.

Expert: Possibly the last meeting in this format

According to political scientist David Sirakov, the conference could be the last meeting in this format. “Nach allem, was wir aus dem Wahlkampf und dem Umfeld von Donald Trump wissen, ist das wahrscheinlich”, sagte Sirakov der Deutschen Presse-Agentur. The designated US President probably rely on alone than on cooperation. “Trump hat immer wieder die Ukraine-Unterstützung kritisiert und angekündigt, diese einzustellen.”

Drittens werde es wenige Tage vor Trumps Amtseinführung am 20. Januar möglicherweise das Ende dieses durch die USA ausgerichteten Forums, meinte Sirakov. “Weitere Treffen werden gegebenenfalls ohne amerikanische Beteiligung an anderen Orten stattfinden – eventuell in Wiesbaden, wo das neue Nato-Ukraine-Kommando stationiert ist.” Russia has been waging a war against the neighboring country of Ukraine since February 24, 2022.

Russian attacks kill over a dozen people

Überschattet wird die Deutschlandreise Selenskyjs von einem neuen verheerenden Bombenangriff der russischen Luftwaffe auf die südostukrainische Industriestadt Saporischschja. According to the authorities, at least 13 people were killed in the attack and over 60 injured. “There is nothing more brutal than bombing a city when you know that ordinary civilians will suffer,” President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram. According to initial information from the authorities, the attack was aimed at an industrial property.

According to police reports, two 500 kilo bombs hit the city. Four administration buildings, almost 30 cars and a tram were damaged. Before the Russian march, the city had over 700,000 inhabitants. The city administration ordered a day of mourning for Thursday.

Die Frontlinie zwischen russischen und ukrainischen Truppen verläuft nur etwa 30 Kilometer südlich der Großstadt. Russian fighter jets throw off the lubricants over Russian -controlled areas from a safe distance from the Ukrainian air defense. Gegen die ins Ziel gelenkten Bomben haben die Angegriffenen so gut wie keine Abwehrmöglichkeiten.

South of Saporischschja, two people were also killed in the Stepnohirsk settlement in another Russian attack and two more injured. All four were under the ruins of a house. Stepnohirsk is only a few kilometers from the front line near Kamjanske.

The number of Ukrainian deserters has risen massively

In the third year of the war, the number of Ukrainian deserters rose massively. According to statistics from the Ukrainian Attorney General, over 22,000 cases of deserion were registered in 2024. In addition, there are more than 62,000 cases of unauthorized absence from the force. Compared to the previous year, this represents an almost three-fold increase in the number of deserters and an almost four-fold increase in the number of unauthorized absences.

Im Vergleich zum ersten Kriegsjahr 2022 sind die Steigerungsraten mit einer Versiebenfachung bei Desertionen und einer mehr als Verzehnfachung beim eigenmächtigen Fernbleiben noch drastischer. In total, almost 120,000 cases of desertion have been recorded since the outbreak of war. Observers assume that the number of unreported cases is high.

In a recent interview, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported a decline in these cases in October and November. However, data from the Attorney General’s Office shows a massive increase in December. And a reduction was only recorded for desertions in the months mentioned. According to Selenskyj, 980,000 soldiers are just 980,000 in the Ukrainian army.

Every day, new videos circulate on social networks with scenes of hunting for conscripts and fights with recruiters in Ukrainian cities. Despite stricter laws and omnipresent advertising for military service, the Ukrainian army was only able to collect a good 200,000 new soldiers in a report by the Washington Post in the previous year. The Russian side is said to have drawn more than twice as many new soldiers at the same time.

According to estimates by MP Anna Skorokhod, around 1.2 million Ukrainian men subject to military service have fled abroad illegally since the mobilization. Since martial law was declared, conscripts have only been able to leave the country in exceptional cases. Many therefore try to escape with forged documents or across the green border. Buying freedom from military service is also widespread.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion with Western help for almost three years.