Defence Minister of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin held a telephone conversation on 11 September.
According to the Pentagon's website, Lloyd congratulated Umerov on his appointment and reiterated the steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine.
The U.S. Secretary provided his Ukrainian counterpart with an update on U.S. security assistance efforts and exchanged views on priorities to support Ukraine's immediate battlefield needs.
Secretary Austin and Minister Umerov also discussed the agenda for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting to be held next week at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The two leaders pledged to remain in close contact.
Pentagon spokesperson recently said that a meeting between Lloyd Austin and Rustem Umerov could take place during the next meeting in the Ramstein format.
On 6 September, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Umerov as Minister of Defence instead of Oleksiy Reznikov, as he was dismissed by MPs after a series of procurement scandals.