US to host talks on Ukraine's defense needs with over 20 countries

The U.S. military expects more than 20 countries to attend Ukraine-focused defense talks it will host in Germany next week that will focus in part on Kyiv's long-term defense needs, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the Pentagon.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby appeared to play down expectations of announcements about long-term assistance at the April 26 talks, saying: "We're not going into this with a pre-cooked set of endings here."

He added that about 40 nations were invited to attend the talks, which were not being organized under the NATO alliance umbrella, and include non-NATO nation states.