- Soon after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia and the US established a hotline for “deconfliction”.
- A US official said that the hotline was only used once. Reuters.
- The official claimed that the call was made from the US but did not specify when.
The only time that a “deconfliction” hotline was used by the military at the beginning of the Ukraine conflict was in February 2009. Reuters reportedCiting a US official on Monday
Unnamed official stated that the US initiated the call due to concerns about Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Although they did not give any details about the exact time, they said it was not after the NATO member Poland was hit by a missile strikeTwo people were killed by the gang earlier in this month.
A Ukrainian air defense missile was most likely responsible for the missile blast that caused global concern. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General It was at that time.
In the immediate aftermath, however, General Mark Milley, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that he He unsuccessfully tried to contact his Russian counterpartThere are concerns that the conflict could spiral into a bigger war if there is a miscommunication or misunderstanding.
The Pentagon established a communication hotline with Russia’s Ministry of Defense in March this year — one month after Moscow launched a full invasion of Ukraine.
According to Reuters at the time, the hotline was created to stop “miscalculations and military incidents” and “escalation.”
Insider reached out to both the Russian Ministry of Defense as well as the US Department of Defense for clarification.
According to the Pentagon’s statement to Reuters, there are many channels that can be used to discuss critical security issues during an emergency or contingency. These include military incidents, miscalculations and escalation.
“We are encouraged and motivated by the recent DoD calls with Russian counterparts, and believe that continued dialogue is crucial,” a spokesperson said.
According to Reuters, Jake Sullivan, White House National Security Advisor, and Bill Burns, CIA Director had previously made contact with Russian officials but they did not use the hotline.
The outlet reported that Milley and his Russian counterpart General Valery Georasimov had spoken on two occasions since war began.
