US and Russian Defense Chiefs speak for the first time in more than a year

The Defense Chiefs of the United States and Russia spoke by telephone this Tuesday (25), for the first time in more than a year. The two sides gave differing accounts of the conversation.

The Pentagon said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov discussed the importance of open lines of communication.

Austin initiated the conversation and it was the first such call since March 2023, said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the Russian minister warned Austin about the dangers of continuing US arms supplies to Ukraine in its 28-month conflict with Russia.

“AR Belousov pointed to the danger of a further escalation of the situation through the continued supply of American weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces,” said a statement from the ministry on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, annexation of four of its regions and slow advance into eastern Ukraine have seen Moscow’s relations with Washington reach their worst level since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.

In the latest in a long series of allegations, Moscow said over the weekend that the United States was responsible for a Ukrainian attack on the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula with five US-supplied missiles that killed four people.

US arms supplies to Ukraine resumed in April with Congress’s approval of a $61 billion aid package. The United States says it supports Ukrainian demands that Russian troops leave Ukraine and that the country’s post-Soviet borders be restored.

In Austin’s latest call with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the Defense Secretary said he pointed out the risky behavior of Russian fighter pilots that caused a U.S. drone to crash in the Black Sea near Ukraine.