Next week, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will travel to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, to meet with his counterparts from a handful of nations to discuss both the current and future defense needs of Ukraine, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said, the US Department of Defense informed.

"The secretary will be hosting a number of his counterparts for a Ukraine Defense Consultative Group at Ramstein Air Base on [April 26]," Kirby told reporters Thursday. "The goal [is] to bring together stakeholders from all around the world for a series of meetings on the latest Ukraine defense needs and—and this is critically important—ensuring that Ukraine's enduring security and sovereignty over the long term is respected and developed."

Right now, Kirby said, the list of participants for the meeting is not yet finalized, though he did say participants would include more than just NATO nations.