A meeting of NATO defense ministers has begun on Thursday at its headquarters in the Belgian capital, Brussels.

The two-day meeting started with a speech by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to take part in the meeting, and is expected to brief the participants on the "victory plan" to end Russia's invasion. He aims to gain their understanding.

The allied nations are expected to discuss further strengthening their support for Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that he wants to hear from Zelenskyy updates about the situation on the eastern front with Russia.

He said, "I can stress in my conversation with him that he has to be absolutely assured that 32 allies are united in making sure that collectively, we will do whatever is needed to make sure that Ukraine can prevail, that Putin will not get his way."

The participants are expected to discuss cooperation to strengthen defense industry bases among the allied nations and defense arrangements in the eastern European region that borders Russia.

During the meeting, the NATO defense ministers are scheduled to hold discussions with their counterparts from the Indo-Pacific region for the first time.
Defense Minister Nakatani Gen will be attending from Japan.

The participants are expected to exchange views on how to respond to China which has been deepening its defense alliance with Russia.