Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to office, Ukraine’s future course is shrouded in uncertainty as Kyiv loses ground to Russia’s far larger military.

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 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.