The US secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, met with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and has said that American support to Kyiv would continue “for the long haul”, the Associated Press reports.

Austin, who travelled to Kyiv by train from Poland, met with Zelenskiy and was scheduled to meet with the country’s defence minister, Rustem Umerov, and chief of staff Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

In Kyiv, Austin said Ukraine’s effort to defeat Russia’s invasion “matters to the rest of the world” and that US support would continue “for the long haul”.

Zelenskiy said Austin’s visit was “a very important signal for Ukraine.” “We count on your support,“ he added, thanking Congress as well as the American people for their backing.

“I was honored to meet with President Zelenskiy in Kyiv today to reaffirm the United States’ steadfast support for Ukraine”, Austin wrote on X after his meeting.

He said the US, together with allies and partners, would continue to support Ukraine’s needs on the battlefield.