Washington, February 12: Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has cancelled his trip to Brussels to meet with NATO ministers and work on Ukraine military aid as he remains hospitalised while dealing with complications from prostate cancer, two defence officials said Monday. Austin had been scheduled to travel to Brussels on Tuesday to attend a regular meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, a gathering of about 50 countries to coordinate military aid for Kyiv. That meeting will now be held virtually, the officials said. Lloyd Austin Health Update: US Defense Secretary Hospitalised With Bladder Issue, Transfers Powers to Deputy

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public. Austin, 70, was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Sunday afternoon to address bladder issues. After further tests he was admitted into the critical care unit for supportive care and close monitoring and has since transferred authorities to Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks. US: Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin Underwent Surgery for Prostate Cancer, Information Not Disclosed to President Joe Biden

Following the Ukraine meeting he was to attend a regular meeting of NATO defence ministers, also in Brussels. It was not immediately clear if Hicks would attend that meeting instead. This is Austin's second hospitalisation due to complications following surgery in December to treat prostate cancer.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)