Pentagon: The upcoming Ramstein summit will discuss military support for Ukraine through 2027.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group summit in the "Ramstein" format on January 9 will primarily focus on enhancing Ukraine's defense capabilities by establishing "reliable deterrent forces" by 2027, the Pentagon announced on January 7.

“Coalition leaders will need to approve roadmaps that outline the needs and objectives of the Ukrainian Air Force, armored vehicles, artillery, demining, drones, integrated air and missile defense, information technologies, and maritime security by 2027,” said an unnamed Pentagon official.

This was reported by the U.S. Department of Defense news channel, as conveyed by Kyiv Independent.

“These roadmaps are intended to enable donors to support Ukraine in the future,” the official added.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump stirred controversy on January 7 by accusing President Joe Biden of provoking war with Russia allegedly due to support for Ukraine's aspirations to join NATO.

“Russia has been saying for many years, long before Putin, that NATO should not be present in Ukraine. This is like chiseled in stone. And Biden said, 'No, Ukrainians should be able to join NATO.' Then Russia has someone standing right on the doorstep; I can understand their (the Russians) feelings about this,” Trump said during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.

Leaders of the U.S.-led coalition had previously discussed the idea of implementing NATO control over the "Ramstein" format to support arms supplies to Kyiv, attempting to "protect" the alliance from Trump.

In June, NATO countries signed a plan under which the alliance takes control of part of the aid from the U.S. to coordinate military assistance to Ukraine, according to Politico.

Trump has not yet outlined his plans regarding the Ukraine contact group.

“We cannot speak about what the new administration (Trump’s) will decide regarding its role in the coalition, but we are very confident in the European capability to support this mission and are sure that these coalition capabilities will continue in one way or another,” the official Pentagon news channel reported.

The coalition consists of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, which gather at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein, Germany. The last meeting in the "Ramstein" format took place on September 6 and was the 24th meeting of the group since its inception in April 2022.

Background. As reported by AP, the Biden administration is preparing its final major aid package for Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration. Meanwhile, $4 billion of the funds allocated by Congress for Ukraine will remain unspent and will be transferred to the Trump administration.