Fortifying Ukraine's air-defense capability was the major theme of a meeting on April 21 of dozens of countries that have supported Kyiv in its fight against invading Russian forces and as it prepares to launch a spring counteroffensive.
General Mark Milley, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a news conference that beefing up Ukraine's air-defense system was "the critical military task right now," adding that the goal is to make sure that it is robust and rigorous -- "layered from high altitude to mid-altitude to low altitude and from short range, mid-range to long range."
Milley said air defense was the theme all day of the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking alongside Milley at the news conference, said Kyiv's allies in the contact group believe that what Ukraine needs most urgently is ground-based air-defense capability.
"That is what has enabled them to prevent the Russian air forces from having a meaningful impact in this fight," Austin said.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting consisted of representatives from some 50 countries that are providing military aid to Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry responded to the Ramstein meeting by warning of an "uncontrollable" arms race and said Moscow needed to build up its tactical missile capabilities, including those on its Kaliningrad territory bordering Poland and Lithuania, the RIA Novosti state news agency said.
Milley also said the Ukrainian military continues to perform very well, adding that Russia is expending "significant manpower for very little gain" in intense fighting in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Russian forces also have intensified indiscriminate shelling in Avdiyivka and other cities and urban areas, he said.
"Russia continues to pay severely for its war of choice," he said. "Unlike the Ukrainian forces who are highly motivated to fight for their country, to fight for their freedom, their democracy and their way of life, the Russians lack in leadership, they lack will, the morale is poor, and their discipline is eroding."
Austin confirmed that the United States plans to deliver Abrams tanks to Germany in the coming weeks, saying Ukrainian soldiers will be trained on how to use them.
The training is to take place at a military training area in southern Germany and last around 10 weeks, according to earlier news reports about the delivery of the tanks.
The Pentagon previously announced that the Abrams tanks would be delivered in the autumn, but Austin said that the delivery had been expedited.
Milley said the tanks that are to arrive in the next couple of weeks as "training tanks" that are not combat-capable. He said they would be used to train the crews on how to shoot, maneuver, and maintain the tanks.
Neither Austin nor Milley said exactly when combat-ready Abrams tanks would arrive, but Milley predicted that when they get to Ukraine and are used in combination with mechanized infantry, "they'll be very effective."
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also made promises to Ukraine during the Ramstein meeting. German Leopard tanks damaged in the war are to be repaired in Poland from now on, he said. This will ensure their quick return to the front, he said.
Also on April 21, six Leopard tanks left Spain by ship destined for Ukraine, according to a naval monitoring website. Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said this month that Spain would send 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks. The remaining four are undergoing repairs. Spain has also trained 40 tank crew members and 15 mechanics.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier he was "confident" that Ukraine is prepared to retake more territory amid preparations for an expected counteroffensive against Russian forces as Kyiv's international supporters gather in Germany to discuss beefing up weapons deliveries for Ukraine.
"I'm confident that they will now be in a position to be able to liberate even more land," Stoltenberg told journalists on the sidelines of the meeting.
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The NATO chief noted that Germany and the United States have delivered multiple Patriot air-defense batteries, which he said are "operational in Ukraine." He declined to provide other details or the exact number of Patriot systems that have been delivered.
Stoltenberg added that the alliance's current focus is to ensure Ukraine prevails against Russia's unprovoked invasion, and once the war ends, that Kyiv has "the deterrence to prevent new attacks."
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, who is also attending the meeting, met with Austin ahead of the talks.
"Over the past year, members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group have provided tremendous capabilities to Ukraine. We will support them for as long as it takes," Austin tweeted after meeting with Reznikov.
On the battlefield, Russia pressed its offensive in the eastern city of Bakhmut despite suffering heavy losses, the Ukrainian military said on April 21, while Kyiv and Poltava regions sustained more drone attacks that caused damage to infrastructure.
Ukrainian air defenses detected and shot down eight Iranian-made Shahed drones above Kyiv overnight, the capital's military administration said early on April 21.
"After a 25-day lull, the capital of Ukraine suffered another air attack from the enemy.... About eight enemy drones were detected and shot down," Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on Telegram, adding that according to initial reports there were no casualties or major damage.
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In the eastern region of Poltava, a Russian drone attack damaged civilian infrastructure, Dmytro Lunin, the region's military governor, said on Telegram.
"There is destruction of civilian infrastructure. Rescuers are working to control the fire. Preliminarily, there are no victims," Lunin said.
In the eastern region of Donetsk, fighting raged on the Bakhmut-Avdiyivka-Maryinka front, which Russian forces have been unsuccessfully attempting to break through for several months, the General Staff said in its daily bulletin.
"The enemy, at the cost of heavy losses, continues to concentrate its main efforts on conducting offensive actions in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka directions," the military said, adding that the fiercest battle continues to be fought for Bakhmut.
Over the past day, more than 60 enemy attacks were repulsed by Ukrainian defenders, it said.
