Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said air defense was the “pillar” of the Ramstein format meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking briefly besides NATO chief Mark Rutte after the meeting co-chaired by the UK and Germany, Shmyhal said the participants discussed the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to buy US weapons for Ukraine.
Shmyhal said the priority list is air defense, interceptors and artillery munitions.
Shmyhal described interceptors as a “pillar” of the meeting as Russia continues to hit Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of winter.
On artillery munitions, Shmyhal said the member states will look into their stockpiles, particularly long-range ones.
Rutte, meanwhile, reiterated the earlier achievement today of getting “16-17” countries on board the PURL initiative.
Rutte also hailed the initiative as “good news” from the US, which is set to supply Kyiv with old military gear that only the US can provide, adding that the alliance aims to keep the Czech ammunition initiative going while praising some Baltic states’ support in boosting the industrial base.
Rutte said the goal is to keep Ukraine in the fight and make clear to Putin that he can “never win this war.”