U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opened the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) held in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19. The meeting comes at a precarious time for Ukraine and its allies, as Russia ramps up pressure along the front and $60 billion in aid from the U.S., a key military donor, remains stalled by disputes in Congress. In his opening words, Austin thanked German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius for hosting the event and Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov for attending in person. “Russia has paid a staggering cost for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s…