Washington — The Pentagon has canceled plans for U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to travel to Brussels for key meetings on Ukraine and for talks with NATO allies, just a day after he was hospitalized again for complications after prostate cancer surgery. A U.S. defense official tells VOA that the meetings on Ukraine through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, set for Wednesday, will now be held virtually. There is no word yet on whether Austin will participate in that meeting, or on how the Defense Department will handle a NATO defense ministers meeting scheduled for Thursday. Monday’s decision to cancel the trip comes less than 24 hours after defense officials announced Austin was back in the hospital with what the Pentagon described as “an emergent bladder issue.” Officials at Walter Reed Military Medical Center said Sunday that Austin was admitted to the hospital’s critical care unit “for supportive care and close monitoring” after undergoing tests. “At this time, it is not clear how long Secretary Austin will remain hospitalized,” the officials said in a statement. “The current bladder issue is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery. His cancer prognosis remains excellent.” – Read more