Ukraine, U.S. defence heads talk "priorities" for allies' meeting

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin meets with Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov to discuss how to help Ukraine defend itself, at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

(Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov discussed "priorities", including air defence and artillery, for upcoming meetings of Kyiv's allies in Brussels, both sides said late on Saturday.

After securing a promise of scores of modern battle tanks, including the U.S. M1 Abrams, German Leopard 2 and British Challenger 2, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other Kyiv officials have been urging allies to send fighter aircraft.