Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will lead the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Tuesday, when military leaders from roughly 50 countries will discuss Ukraine's developing needs on the battlefield.
"The focus of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group tomorrow is going to be really on the counter-offensive, making sure that partners and allies that we're all talking together on what Ukraine needs, which we know is — the priorities are air defense and more artillery," Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters on Monday.
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Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley will lead the virtual meeting from the Pentagon. The group alternates its in-person and virtual monthly meetings.
The defense secretary and Ukrainian Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov spoke on Monday ahead of the meeting, "which will focus on Ukraine's near-term air defense and ammunition requirements, as well as support and sustainment for Ukraine over the long term," a readout of the call said.
"Secretary Austin updated Minister Reznikov on U.S. security assistance efforts, and Minister Reznikov provided an update of developments on the ground in Ukraine," the readout continued.
The meeting comes after Russia withdrew from an agreement to allow Ukrainian grain exports to leave the country. The United Nations and Turkey first brokered the Black Sea agreement last July to curb a growing global food shortage that had been exacerbated by Russia's refusal to let Ukrainian exports leave for months.
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Singh said the topic of the grain deal "could come up" during the meetings with defense leaders, though it's not the priority.
Early Monday night, Ukraine's military launched an attack against the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia with Crimea and is key for Russia's military logistics. Two people were killed in the attack and a third was injured. This bridge was also targeted in early October of last year.