WASHINGTON - United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin will attend a meeting on Ukraine’s military needs virtually from his house, as he continues to recover from complications of prostate cancer treatment that led to his secret hospitalisation, the Pentagon said on Jan 22.

Mr Austin, 70, was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Maryland on Dec 22 for prostate cancer treatment. He returned to the hospital on Jan 1 due to complications, including a urinary tract infection. His hospitalisation was not revealed until four days later and the Pentagon did not specify why he was being treated until Jan 9.

His failure to tell President Joe Biden that he was hospitalised drew criticism from lawmakers and caught the White House by surprise.

While the virtual conference on Jan 23 will mark Mr Austin’s first public engagement, he will not carry out a press conference alongside the top US general – something common after the monthly meetings that bring together defence leaders from more than 50 countries.

The meeting comes as Republicans in Congress have blocked emergency funding that Mr Biden requested for Ukraine and have threatened to force a partial shutdown of the government in an effort to push new security policies along the US-Mexico border.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that while the US was committed to Ukraine, lawmakers needed to pass more funding for Kyiv as it battles Russian forces.

“It’s not just the United States that has been critical and providing security assistance to Ukraine, our partners, our allies continue to do that, despite the fact that we do not have a supplemental that’s been passed by Congress,” she said.

Mr Biden has requested US$61.4 billion (S$82 billion) in additional funding to help supply Ukraine with weapons and replenish US stocks as it nears the two-year mark of its war with Russia. The funds sought for Ukraine are part of a “supplemental” request that includes US$14.3 billion for Israel and US$13.6 billion for border protection. REUTERS