BRUSSELS

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday discussed military assistance and grain shipments.

Stoltenberg said on Twitter that he had a “good call” with Zelenskyy to discuss “priorities for military support.”

He added it is “vital that NATO and allies provide even more assistance to Ukraine even faster.”

The leaders also talked about the first Ukrainian grain shipment and the need to “fully implement the deal sponsored by the UN and our ally Türkiye." 

Zelesnkyy's office said he informed Stoltenberg of "the need for Ukraine to quickly receive more heavy weapons from NATO member states in order to successfully repulse Russian attacks and proceed to a further counteroffensive." 

The US on Monday announced sending another $550 million in military aid to Ukraine, bringing the total support to over $8 billion since Russia’s war on Ukraine began on Feb. 24.

The EU defense and foreign ministers are also expected to discuss further increasing the bloc’s €2.5 billion ($2.56 billion) military aid to the country at their informal meeting later this month.

Türkiye, the UN, Russia, and Ukraine signed the deal on July 22 to reopen three Ukrainian ports for grain that has been stuck for months because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

After departing from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, the first grain-loaded ship will arrive in Istanbul later on Tuesday for a joint inspection before setting off for Lebanon.