SECURITY: US Def Sec Austin To Host Ukraine Contact Group In Germany Next Week

The US Department of Defense has confirmed that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on April 21.

• Austin will also travel to Sweden on April 19 to meet with defence and government officials and discuss "security-related topics of mutual interest," likely to include Sweden's stalled NATO membership bid.
• Pentagon: "Secretary Austin will travel to Germany where he and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley will host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base.
• "This will be the eleventh meeting of the UDCG since this group was formed one year ago following Russia's unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine. At Ramstein, they will join ministers of defense and senior military officials from nearly 50 nations from around the world to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and continue our close coordination on providing the Ukrainian people with the means necessary to protect themselves against Russia's continued aggression."