Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov held a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, who is on a visit to Kyiv, the press service of the Ministry of Defense said.

Umerov said at the meeting that Ukraine is ready to co-invest in joint defense enterprises and directly purchase weapons and equipment from U.S. companies. The parties also discussed preparations for the NATO summit in Washington next year.

The Secretary of Defense thanked the tremendous and consistent U.S. assistance to Ukraine and briefed O'Brien on the launch of the State Logistics Operator as a key part of the new acquisition architecture.

"Conducting a financial audit under the leadership of Deputy Minister Yuriy Dzhyhir is another priority," the department said.

The Ministry of Defense said that in order to localize defense production in Ukraine, two international forums were held with the participation of dozens of foreign companies – in Kyiv and Washington. The focus of the defense department is the development of military innovations, in particular the production and purchase of drones of various modifications.