The head of the Pentagon informed the head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine about his first telephone conversation with Sergei Shoigu since the beginning of a large-scale invasion. Lloyd Austin urged the Russian minister to stop the war in Ukraine and at the same time noted the importance of maintaining communication lines. This was announced by the speaker of the US defense department John Kirby.

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Recall that the last time Austin spoke with Shoigu was back in February, a week before the invasion, about the beginning of which US intelligence warned Ukrainian colleagues at least six months before the first massive missile strikes on February 24. The Ukrainian military predicted the war no less accurately, outlining all possible scenarios, many of which nevertheless came true..

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Until recently, the American side has repeatedly stated that Russia did not respond to requests to discuss the situation in Ukraine..

Austin and Reznikov had seen each other before during a meeting specially convened by the Americans at the Ramstein base in Germany.. Ministers together with representatives of 40 allies discussed the issue of military assistance to Ukraine. Then half of the invited countries quickly confirmed their participation, which indicates the understanding of many countries of the world of the importance of protecting Ukraine from the Russian aggressor, they say in the Pentagon.