MADRID, 21 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will chair the second meeting of the military contact group for Ukraine, which includes more than 40 countries, to ensure coordination of long-term arms supplies to kyiv in the face of Russian aggression.

Before the meeting, Austin will speak with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov, "to discuss Ukraine's military requirements", as well as the last tranche of security assistance that the United States will send to Ukraine, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby. .

This week, US President Joe Biden authorized an additional $100 million (94.6 million euros) to provide Ukraine's armed forces with sufficient "capabilities" to "continue the fight in the east of the country."

The forum brought together representatives of more than 40 countries, most of them from NATO, but also from countries such as Japan, South Korea or Israel, in an attempt by Washington to make a common and solid front against the military invasion ordered by Vladimir Putin.

On the other hand, the 'number two' of the Department of Defense, Kathleen Hicks, will also travel this Sunday to meet with senior military and government leaders in Norway and the United Kingdom, as well as with leaders of the United States European Command. and the US African Command in Germany.

Thus, Hicks will meet with Norwegian foreign and defense ministers to discuss "stability in the Middle East, challenges on the African continent and Russia's threatening and destabilizing behavior in the High North, the Baltic Sea and along the eastern flank of NATO," the US Department of Defense said in a statement.