In a phone call with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on May 13, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria. Ukraine. This is the first conversation between the two defense ministers of Russia and the United States, since Russia’s military attack on Ukraine on February 24.
In fact, Mr. Austin has repeatedly tried to talk to Mr. Shoigu during the nearly three months of fighting that broke out in Ukraine, but Moscow officials have shown no interest.
An unnamed US official added that the call was made at the request of Minister Austin and lasted for an hour but did not address any specific issues and did not lead to direct changes. on Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a phone call on May 13, Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication.
The US official described the intonation in the conversation between the two Russian-American military officials as “professional”.
TASS news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying that the call was made “on the initiative of the US side”.
“Top issues related to international security were discussed including the situation in Ukraine,” TASS reported.
After Russia carried out a special military operation in Ukraine, Moscow and Washington established a hotline to prevent misunderstandings and actions from aggravating the conflict in Ukraine.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the US has transferred about $3.8 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine. Earlier this week, the US House of Representatives passed a proposal to provide an additional $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, but the US Senate has yet to ratify it.
Also on May 13, the Ukrainian military released a video of Ukrainian military forces attacking and destroying many Russian armored vehicles when Russian troops tried to cross a river in the Donbas region.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Defense Minister also predicted that the war between Russia and Ukraine would last for many more weeks.
The second largest city in Ukraine, Kharkiv, was once the site of intense fighting between Russia and Ukraine, but has been relatively quiet for at least the past two weeks.
According to Reuters, Ukraine now holds control of territory stretching to the River Siverskyi Donets about 40 kilometers to the east. However, Russian troops are still shelling the villages north of Kharkiv.
The Russian side denies the accusations of hitting civilian targets. According to Moscow, the Russian military shot down a Ukrainian Su-27 plane in the Kharkiv region, and disabled the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine.
According to Britain, in the southeast of Kharkiv, the Ukrainian army prevented Russian military forces from crossing the River Siverskyi Donets.
Photos released by the Ukrainian Air Force Command show a number of military vehicles on fire near the collapsed sections of the pontoon bridge lying half-submerged in the river, and many vehicles that have been badly damaged or abandoned. including tanks.
Reuters could not verify the above image as to where and when the fighting happened.
The Kremlin called the attack on Ukraine since February 24 a “special military operation” to demilitarize the neighboring country in the face of a threat to Russia’s national security. But Ukraine insists it is not a threat to Russia.
According to Kiev, the deaths of thousands of civilians and the destruction of many cities prove that Russia is waging a hostile war.
“We are entering a new and prolonged phase of the war,” Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Facebook, predicting “tough weeks are ahead” in which Ukraine will have to alone against the “angry invader”.
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