His foremost theme has been a constant refrain of his military urgently needing more, more and more weapons. He's even requested advanced fighter jets, months ago asking Congress to "close the skies" (or in essence a No Fly Zone).

Now for the first time it seems he'll go straight to the source, as he's set to be the keynote speaker, via video link, to a major meeting of American defense contractors later this month. The Hill is confirming that "he headlines the annual Future Force Capabilities Conference and Exhibition hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA)" in Austin, Texas on September 21.

Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov is also scheduled to address the conference. Naturally, both are expected to emphasize a message that more and heavier arms are needed if Ukrainian forces hope to sustain their eastern and southern counteroffensive, which in the last days has been widely reported as successful - at least so far.