The next leaders-level Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) meeting, also known as the Ramstein format, has been postponed until after the US elections on November 5, German broadcaster ZDF reported on October 13.

The meeting was supposed to happen last week, but US President Joe Biden postponed it to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Milton that wrecked destruction on Florida. Biden is also due to arrive in Berlin on October 17, but has cut his visit short to a single day, ZDF reports leaving no time for a wider meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was in New York earlier this month for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and met with Biden to present his victory plan and is awaiting a decision from the White House on its contents. As bne IntelliNews reported, that meeting was a failure, as the Ukrainian president left without receiving any major new commitments by the US that were detailed in the plan.

Zelenskiy followed up with a whirlwind tour of European leaders where he also presented his plan, which is due to be discussed at the upcoming Ramstein meeting that could possibly lead to major new commitments by the allies. One of the items on the list is also accelerated Nato membership and some member states have indicated they would be prepared to bring a rump Ukraine into the alliance in the event of a ceasefire with Russia, leaving eastern Ukraine occupied by Russia and not included in the Nato security agreements.

The Ramstein meeting coordinates international military assistance to Ukraine and had originally planned a leader-level meeting for October 12. Biden was expected to chair the session, but the gathering was postponed as Hurricane Milton approached Florida’s coast, disrupting his travel schedule.

ZDF also reported that Germany's €1.4bn military aid package, initially set to be announced at Ramstein, was instead unveiled by Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on October 11. The third meeting between the two men, Zelenskiy called it their “most important meeting yet.”

The new package will arrive before the end of 2024 and is being given jointly with Belgium, Denmark and Norway. It includes more air defence, tanks, combat drones and artillery. Zelenskiy also received a new $8bn commitment from Biden while in Washington.

The victory plan has been met with a lukewarm reception by Ukraine’s western allies. One US official who has seen the plan described it as a “repackaged request for more weapons and a lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range missiles.” A European diplomat also told Ukrainska Pravda that, “there appears to be nothing especially new in the victory plan.”

Zelenskiy reportedly discussed plans for a second peace summit  with Scholz that is slated to happen sometime in November. 

"I greatly appreciate sharing our efforts to bring a just peace closer," Zelenskiy said on X.

Zelenskiy has been pressing for a concrete timeline for Ukraine’s Nato accession, but has been repeatedly rebuffed by Nato allies, who have not gone further than to say Ukraine is on an “irreversible path” to membership, a line repeated by the Nato General Secretary Mark Rutte during a surprise visit to Kyiv on October 3.

As of now, no new date has been set for the next Ramstein meeting, leaving the timing of future discussions on Ukraine's defence needs uncertain.