The head of the Pentagon will visit Ukraine

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to visit Ukraine next week.

This was stated at a briefing by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby, Interfax reports.

“The Minister (Austin – ed.) And his team will be preparing for a trip to Europe next week. They will visit Georgia, Ukraine, Romania. The Minister will conclude this important tour in Brussels with allies and partners, at the meeting of NATO ministers.”, – he said.

There is no specific information yet.

Note, on October 21-22, a meeting of the heads of defense departments of NATO member states will take place in Brussels.

Ukraine and the United States signed a defense partnership agreement

In the framework agreement, which was signed by the ministers of defense of Ukraine and the United States on August 31 at the Pentagon:

• identified ways to promote joint bilateral priorities to address security challenges;
• confirmed the unwavering support of the US Department of Defense for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as condemnation of the Russian occupation of Crimea and aggression in eastern Ukraine;
• further steps were identified for interaction between the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the US Department of Defense to increase the military potential and readiness of Ukraine to preserve the territorial integrity of the country, progress on the path to NATO and promote regional security;
• confirmed the continued support of the US Department of Defense for Ukraine’s right to determine its future foreign policy, independent of external interference, including in our country’s aspiration to join NATO.

For a period until December 2026 the following bilateral priorities of defense relations between Ukraine and the United States have been identified:

• bilateral security cooperation, as well as countering Russian aggression, including a full-fledged training and exercise program;
• pursuing defense sector reforms in line with NATO principles and standards, building on the significant progress made since 2014;
• assistance in the implementation of the provisions of the strategy of the defense industry and the implementation of reforms in order to meet the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
• deepening cooperation in the Black Sea region in order to ensure freedom of navigation and effectively counter external threats and challenges in all spheres of military activity;
• strengthening cooperation in the field of cybersecurity;
• a closer partnership of defense intelligence communities to support military planning and defense operations.

We will remind, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to Washingtonmet with the director of the American space agency NASA by Bill Nelson.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called three blocks of questions, which are planned to be discussed during the visit of the head of state to America.