The top US military officer, Air Force Gen Charles Q Brown Jr, spoke by phone to Russia's chief of general staff Valery Gerasimov last week, the US military said on Wednesday, the first time Brown spoke to his Russian counterpart.
“The leaders discussed a number of global and regional security issues to include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine,” a spokesperson for Brown said.
The rare call took place on November 27, but “at the request of Gerasimov, Brown agreed to not proactively announce the call”. The request for the call was made by the Russian ministry of defence, the spokesperson said.
Brown became the top US general last year. Gerasimov last spoke to Brown's predecessor Mark Milley.
Tensions have spiked in recent weeks. Ukraine fired US and British missiles at targets inside Russia despite Moscow's warnings that it would see such action as a major escalation.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new medium-range, hypersonic ballistic missile known as “Oreshnik” (the hazel) and warned that more could follow.
US officials said Russia notified Washington shortly before its strike.
Reuters
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