Dhe Ukrainian leadership is hoping for further support in the fight against the Russian attackers from the upcoming meeting in the so-called Ramstein format. The monthly advisory rounds of supporters of Ukraine, named after the US base in Rhineland-Palatinate, deal with military and civilian support for the country attacked by Russia. According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian leadership is preparing for the next meeting and is currently clarifying its need for weapons and ammunition, especially for heavy artillery.
“I have had preparatory talks,” said Zelenskyy in his nightly video address on Monday after consulting with the commanders of his armed forces. “And we expect sound decisions that do justice to the perspectives on the battlefield.” In addition to ammunition deliveries, he also discussed production options with the generals by state and private companies.
The format, named after the location of the first meeting in Ramstein, will be continued in Rhineland-Palatinate on April 21 after meetings at various locations in the past few months.
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian armed forces repelled dozens of attacks by Russian troops on Monday in the east of the country. In its daily situation report, the General Staff in Kiev once again identified the cities of Bakhmut and Marjinka as the “epicenter of the fighting”. In the course of the day, around 50 attacks from five different directions were repelled “with high enemy casualties”. The information could not be independently verified.
Russian troops and Wagner army fight together
In the battle for the already largely destroyed but symbolic city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Russian troops and Wagner’s private army are now taking more coordinated action against the Ukrainian defenders. Russian assault units, including paratroopers, took over two neighborhoods in northwest and central Bakhmut, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said on Monday.
The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, confirmed the joint approach. Accordingly, the regular troops protect the flanks of the private army in the fight against the Ukrainian armed forces. Prigozhin had recently repeatedly criticized that the Russian Defense Ministry was doing too little to take Bakhmut. Above all, the confidant of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had complained about a lack of ammunition. Over the weekend, Prigozhin caused confusion by speculating about an end to Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauricio Vieira reiterated his country’s interest in a peaceful solution and criticized sanctions against Russia. As one of the world’s leading agricultural producers, Brazil depends on fertilizers from Russia.
The EU Commission is critical of the import bans on grain from Ukraine imposed by Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. When asked on Monday, a spokeswoman for the Brussels authority emphasized that trade policy falls under the exclusive competence of the EU and that unilateral measures are therefore not acceptable. In difficult times it is important to coordinate all decisions within the EU.
Farmers in several eastern EU countries are facing disproportionate competition from war-time duty-free imports of large quantities of Ukrainian grain. The Slovakian government justified the import ban by saying that cheaper products from Ukraine would destabilize the market in neighboring EU countries.