United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to participate virtually in a meeting of international supporters of Ukraine later this week, a Pentagon official confirmed on Tuesday.

The meeting is organized by the 'Ukraine Defence Contact Group', which held its inaugural session with Hegseth's predecessor, Lloyd Austin, shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Secretary Hegseth plans to join the meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group on Friday, April 11, but did not provide additional details regarding the agenda or specific topics to be discussed.

Since former President Donald Trump took office for a non-consecutive second term, Washington has reduced its level of participation in these meetings.

Trump has been outspoken in his criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine and resumed presidential duties in January, which coincided with the United Kingdom assuming the presidency of the group for the first time in February.

Under President Joe Biden, the United States has provided military assistance to Kyiv amounting to tens of billions of dollars since the onset of the Russian invasion over three years ago.

However, there has been no announcement of new military aid packages for Ukraine since Trump began his second term.