Moscow announced that Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed the situation in Ukraine during a phone call on Tuesday. The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that "the ministers exchanged their views on the situation concerning Ukraine," noting that Belousov "pointed out the risk of further escalation due to the provision of American weapons to the Ukrainian armed forces." The statement added that this call was initiated by the United States. This is the first phone call between the two since Belousov was appointed as Defense Minister on May 12.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder stated that Austin "emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication in the context of the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine." From Moscow's perspective, Washington has become a party to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles against Russian territories and the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov threatened the United States on Monday with "consequences," while Russian diplomacy summoned U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynn Tracy to warn her that "such actions by Washington (...) allowing strikes on Russian territory will not go unpunished."
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to supply similar weapons to enemies of Western countries so they could strike at the interests of these countries in other parts of the world.
