Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu on Sunday held telephone talks with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, informed the Ministry of Defense (MOD) of Russia.
“They discussed situation in Ukraine,” the Russian MOD added. 

This is the second conversation between the two defense chiefs in the last few days. Shoigu had had a discussion with Austin during the conversation held on Friday, after which the Pentagon reported that Austin had stated, during the telephonic conversation with the Russian defense minister, about the importance of maintaining communication channels between the parties.

Earlier on Sunday, the Russian defense minister had held telephonic talks with his French, Turkish, and British counterparts, to whom as Shoigu had conveyed Russia’s concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a “dirty bomb.”