Lloyd Austin scraps trip to Brussels to discuss Ukraine after hospitalization

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was forced to scrap a trip to Brussels after he was checked into a critical care unit Sunday, an official confirmed to The Post.

Austin was set to partake in a Ukraine Defense Contact Group gathering Wednesday to confer with critical partners about the ongoing war raging between Kyiv and Moscow.

The meeting was set to take place just over a week ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s bloody invasion and come as Congress struggles to pass a supplemental package to re-up aid to the war-torn ally.

Austin, 70, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday, after experiencing “symptoms suggesting an emergent bladder issue,” doctors at Walter Reed announced. He was then moved into the critical care unit.

“It is not clear how long Secretary Austin will remain hospitalized,” the doctors said in a statement. “The current bladder issue is not expected to change his anticipated full recovery. His cancer prognosis remains excellent.”

Amid his hospitalization, Austin transferred his duties to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, according to Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder.

Last month, the Pentagon chief kicked up a firestorm after it emerged that he and his team failed to disclose two hospital stays to top military leaders, Congress, and even the White House.

Austin was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in December. He underwent prostatectomy surgery on Dec. 22.

But then, he encountered complications and was admitted to the intensive care unit in early January where he remained until being discharged on Jan. 15.

Austin has put a premium on his personal privacy, but critics knocked him for not being more forthcoming about his health woes given his role overseeing the military.

The Pentagon chief later apologized for the ordeal.

“I did not handle this right,” Austin admitted earlier this month.

“I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. I apologize to my teammates, and to the American people.”

Austin is set to partake in a House Armed Services Committee hearing by the month’s end and is expected to field questions about his medical woes as well as lack of public disclosure on the matter.

Last month, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) opened a formal congressional investigation into Austin’s health scare and lack of disclosure.

Rogers has sought a “detailed account” of the hospitalization as well as Austin’s communications with Defense and White House officials.