U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, who arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit, said that work continues for Congress to approve additional funding for military support to Ukraine.

“I continue to see bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. And I know that there are some things that we need to continue to work through to get the supplemental request approved, and we'll continue to work with Congress to do that. Again Congress, our congressional members, have valid questions that we will answer. But again, I would point out that Ukraine matters, what happens here matters,” Austin said at a briefing in Kyiv Monday evening.

The U.S. Secretary of Defense emphasized that what is happening in Ukraine matters not only for Ukrainians, but also for the whole world.

“This is about the rules-based international order. This is about, not living in a world where a dictator can wake up one day and decide to annex the property of his peaceful neighbor. That's not the world that we want to live in,” Austin noted.

Earlier, media reported that congressional leaders hope to agree on a military aid package for Ukraine and Israel, as well as make improvements to the U.S. migration system by the end of the year.