US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday canceled a planned trip to Brussels for a meeting on assistance to Ukraine this week after he was hospitalized in the intensive care unit of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center over the weekend. This was reported by Politico with reference to an official representative of the US Department of Defense, UNN reports.
According to media reports, Wednesday's planned meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a gathering of international defense leaders to discuss support for Kyiv, will now be held virtually, said the official, who, like others, was granted anonymity to speak ahead of an official announcement.
The Pentagon announced on Sunday that Austin returned to the medical center Sunday night after experiencing symptoms that indicated an "urgent bladder problem." He was admitted to the intensive care unit "for supportive care and close monitoring," his doctors said in a statement Sunday.
The Pentagon chief handed over his official duties to his deputy upon arrival at the hospital, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said in a statement.
It is unclear how long Austin will remain in the hospital, but his doctors said he is expected to make a "full recovery" from the prostate cancer that was diagnosed in December.
According to a person familiar with the situation, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov insisted that the meeting be virtual if Austin was not going to come in person. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff C.Q. Brown was also to attend.
The publication notes that this is the third time Austin has been hospitalized since he was diagnosed with cancer in December. In December, he underwent a cancer treatment procedure. He later developed complications from the procedure and was hospitalized in the intensive care unit in early January. He stayed there until January 15.
Austin and his staff failed to notify his deputy, many senior Defense Department officials, Congress, and the White House in a timely manner of his first two hospital stays. It took him even longer to inform the president that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Later this month, Austin is scheduled to appear before the House Armed Services Committee to discuss how he is coping with his medical issues.
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