Russia-Ukraine war: US, Ukraine defense chiefs discuss 'priorities' ahead of upcoming Brussels meeting

US defense secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov discussed “priorities” such as air defense and artillery. The discussions come ahead of meetings with allies in Brussels.

Washington and Kyiv said on Saturday that Austin and Reznikov discussed priorities like air defense and artillery ahead of the meetings of Ukraine’s allies in Brussels this week. US Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said in a statement that both defense chiefs reiterated the importance of delivering the promised military assistance as soon as possible. Following the call between Austin and Reznikov, Reznikov tweeted that Washington was “unwavering in its support of Ukraine” and that they also discussed the situation on the front lines.

The Ukraine Defense Contract Group is set to meet at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday. The meeting follows the January 20 gathering at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany which was a key meeting for the decisions to send battle tanks to Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials in Kyiv are now looking to secure pledges of fighter jets after obtaining pledges of modern battle tanks from allies including the US M1 Abrams tanks, British Challenger 2 tanks, and German Leopard 2 tanks.

Meanwhile, the British defense ministry in its intelligence bulletin on Monday said Russian forces further boosted their defenses at central Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine as of last week. The ministry added that as of February 8, Russian forces have boosted their defensive positions between the towns of Vasilyvka and Orikhiv in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia.

“Despite the current operational focus on central Donbas, Russia remains concerned about guarding the extremities of its extended front line. This is demonstrated by continued construction of defensive fortifications in Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk oblasts and deployments of personnel. Russia’s front line in Ukraine amounts to approximately 1,288 kilometers with the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia oblast front line at 192 kilometers,” said the ministry.

The ministry said that a Ukrainian advance in Zaporizhzhia would pose a challenge to the viability of Moscow’s “land bridge” that would connect Russia’s Rostov region and the annexed Crimean peninsula. The ministry added that Ukrainian gains in Luhansk would also “further undermine” Russia’s claim of “liberating” the Donbas region.