Ukrainian president, U.S. defense secretary meet on defense issues

KIEV, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and visiting U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin discussed defense issues during their meeting here on Monday, according to the presidential press service.
The talks touched upon Ukraine’s request to use long-range weapons to attack military targets inside Russia.
Zelensky and Austin also addressed increasing the production of attack drones, cruise missiles, artillery shells and air defense equipment.
Austin announced a new U.S. military assistance package for Ukraine worth 400 million U.S. dollars, which includes ammunition, military equipment and weapons.
Since February 2022, the United States has provided 64.1 billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine, according to the fact sheet release by the U.S. Department of State in October this year. ■