European Defense Ministers have stressed that peace is out of reach for Ukraine due to Russia’s ongoing aggression.
This came as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathered on Friday, April 11, 2025, in Brussels.
The group of roughly 50 nations, which was created by former US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin during the Biden administration, meets regularly to discuss bolstering military support for Ukraine.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting was co-hosted by the UK and Germany, with a noticeable absence at the table; US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, who only attended virtually.
The Defense Ministers of the United Kingdom and Germany emphasized that Putin has continued his aggression against both military and civilian targets despite claiming to want peace.
German Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius said in a news conference immediately after the meeting, speaking alongside the Ukrainian and British Ministers, “Given Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, we must concede peace in Ukraine appears to be out of reach in the immediate future.”
“We will ensure that Ukraine continues to benefit from our joint military support. Russia needs to understand that Ukraine is able to go on fighting, and we will support it.”
Boris Pistorius
Also, British Defense Secretary, John Healey noted, “today is one month to the day in which Russia rejected President Trump’s peace settlement.”
“Putin said he wanted peace, but he rejected a full ceasefire. Putin said he wanted peace, but he continues to drag his feet and delay negotiations. Putin said he wanted peace, but his forces continue to fire on Ukraine, military and civilian targets alike.”
John Healey
Ahead of the meeting, the British Defense Minister offered strong words of support for Ukraine and called for putting “even more pressure on Putin.”
Healey said in a statement, “Our commitment is to put Ukraine in the strongest position to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression.”
Friday’s meeting marks the first time a senior Pentagon official has not attended in person since the group was established in 2022 just months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which comes amid a series of policy shifts by the Trump administration seen as moving closer to Moscow.
During former US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin’s time in office, he missed an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in 2024 following complications of cancer treatment.
The US sent a top Pentagon policy official to convene the group instead and Austin attended virtually.
Pistorius said ahead of the Brussels meeting that it was the Trump administration’s decision to attend virtually and was “not his business” to comment on the signal that sends. “It’s not a matter of priorities. I think it’s a matter of schedules,” Pistorius added.
Record Boost In Military Funding For Ukraine
Moreover, Healey disclosed that new pledges of military aid announced after Friday’s meeting total more than €21 billion euros ($23.8 billion), calling it “a record boost in military funding for Ukraine.”
Umerov Rustem, Ukraine’s Defense Minister said from Brussels that Germany will provide a further €11 billion ($12.5 billion) in military support to Ukraine through 2029, including IRIS-T mobile air defense missile systems and PATRIOT missiles.
The United Kingdom and Norway will also jointly give an additional $589 million in military aid, to provide maintenance to vehicles, radar systems, anti-tank mines and hundreds of thousands of drones.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of the meeting that air defense is Kyiv’s priority.
“We just need to address the shortage of air defense systems to make our sky protection stronger.
“Our partners can help with this and also speed up the implementation of all agreements reached earlier. Patriots that remain unused in storage with our partners should be protecting lives.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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