WASHINGTON, November 12. /TASS/. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to discuss plans for the next Ukraine Defense Contact Group to be held in November, the Pentagon said in a statement.
They discussed "security assistance priorities and plans for the next Ukraine Defense Contact Group to be held later this month," the statement said.
The officials also spoke about the latest battlefield developments, according to the Pentagon.
Illarion Pavlyuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, has said the November meeting of the contact group will be focused on the preparation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for winter. When the group previously convened on October 11, Kiev suggested setting up a defense industry coalition that would help Ukraine to produce weapons locally. It was the first time that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky took part in the meeting in person.