Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence;
Credit: MAE
Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade has reported that Defence Minister Yuriko Backes participated in the virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), at the invitation of US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, on Monday 20 May 2024.
After a briefing about the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine and the country's most urgent capability needs, capability coalition leaders briefed the UDCG on progress and the ministers of defence took stock of their recent national contributions to Ukraine.
During her intervention, Minister Backes presented the progress of the IT Coalition (a group of states within the framework of the UDCG, led by Estonia and Luxembourg), including a recent delivery of the first order of ICT equipment to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She announced additional orders worth €5.2 million which will be delivered "shortly". To date, twelve nations have joined the IT Coalition and one nation has begun the process of joining the coalition. "We encourage all nations to join the IT Coalition and thus support the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the cyber domain," said Minister Backes.
The ministry recalled that the UDCG currently brings together about 50 countries, including the 32 NATO allies as well as other countries supporting Ukraine in exercising its right to self-defence against Russian aggression. To date, UDCG countries have provided military support to Ukraine worth a total of $95 billion.
