RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — Dozens of uniformed officials looked to the head table Thursday morning at the dimly lit officer’s club here. They were staring at Lloyd Austin, America’s secretary of defense, the man who brought them all together. But as the day began, the focus was less on Austin than what it means for him to depart.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Ukraine's war against invading Russian forces "matters to all of us," as he opened a meeting of Kyiv's international supporters in Germany.

The White House seized a rare chance to undermine Russia and build up regional allies as it built a coalition to support the Ukrainians.

Ukraine's Western allies will gather with President Volodymyr Zelensky at a US base in Germany on Thursday in their last such meeting before Donald Trump returns to the White House in less than two weeks.

The Biden administration in the United States has announced that it will provide additional military aid to Ukraine for $500 million (W730 billion).U.S.

The U.S. is set to provide Ukraine an additional $500 million in weapons quickly pulled from its existing stockpiles as the Biden administration works to get Kyiv in a stronger negotiating position before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has departed for Germany to attend the 25th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at the Ramstein Air Base, which is his last one before the end of the Biden administration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin used their final meeting to press the incoming Trump administration to not give up on Kyiv’s fight, warning that to cease military support now “will only invite more aggression,

Formed in the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Ukraine Defense Contact Group has ballooned to 50-plus member nations and has overseen the transfer of $126 billion worth of weapons and equipment, making it one of the largest arms transfers in history.

The Biden administration is set to announce a massive, final weapons aid package for Ukraine as part of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Germany this week to meet with representatives of about 50 partner nations who have come to Ukraine’s defense since Russia invaded nearly three years ago.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. They discussed preparations for the Ramstein meeting and key areas of cooperation, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.