U.S. defense secretary to visit Belgium, Lithuania, Poland - Pentagon

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrives for a Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations joint briefing on the U.S. policy on Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2022. REUTERS/Al Drago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will depart for a trip tomorrow to visit Belgium, Lithuania and Poland, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said he would meet leaders in each of the countries along with U.S. troops in Poland.

In Brussels, Austin will meet with NATO allies.

"The secretary is leaving tomorrow morning for Brussels. We'll have to see how things play out," he said.

Kirby added the United States did not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin had made a final decision to invade Ukraine, but that he could move with little or no warning and has continued to add to his capabilities along the countries' shared border.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chris Reese)