Russia didn't take US phone call after Poland missile strike - The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The apical U.S. subject serviceman said Wednesday that helium tried to scope retired to his Russian counterpart successful the aftermath of the rocket explosions successful Poland, but wasn’t capable to get through.

Army Gen. Mark Milley, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said his unit tried to get Russia’s top-ranking subject authoritative Gen. Valery Gerasimov connected the telephone to sermon the incidental with “no success.”

Milley didn’t elaborate connected the efforts, but the deficiency of communications raises concerns astir high-level U.S.-Russian communications successful a crisis. A onslaught against Poland, a NATO member, could person risked a larger struggle if it turned retired that Russia had launched the strike.

The U.S. and different apical leaders present accidental they judge the onslaught was astir apt launched by Ukrainian aerial defenses to support against a Russian rocket bombardment. But uncertainty swirled for hours. Several U.S. defence officials said it isn’t antithetic for Gerasimov to not beryllium disposable for a call.

The deficiency of connection is worrisome, particularly fixed the imaginable implications of the strike, said John Tierney, enforcement manager of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation successful Washington.

Open lines of connection “are captious if we are to debar the hazard of struggle caused by misconception, miscalculations oregon mistake,” Tierney said. “It is unsettling to larn from General Milley that his counterpart was unreachable oregon not consenting to prosecute erstwhile an detonation occurred successful Poland.”

Milley did speech to his subject counterparts successful Ukraine and Poland arsenic the governments worked rapidly to measure whether the rocket that killed 2 radical successful Poland had been launched by Russia oregon Ukraine.

The speech came arsenic Milley has said that Russia’s caller decision successful the cardinal confederate metropolis Kherson and the imaginable slowdown of subject operations successful the wintertime could supply an accidental to negotiate.

“You privation to negociate astatine a clip erstwhile you’re astatine your strength, and your hostile is astatine weakness,” Milley said astatine a Pentagon briefing Wednesday. “The Russian subject is suffering tremendously,” helium said, citing ample losses of Russian tanks, warring vehicles, combatant jets and helicopters.

If warring slows down, Milley said that whitethorn go “a window” for talks astir a governmental solution.

Both helium and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that they expect Ukraine to support warring done the winter, and the U.S. and its allies volition proceed to supply much enactment and weapons. And it volition beryllium up to Ukraine to find immoderate dialog plans.

“We’ve said repeatedly that the Ukrainians are going to determine that and not us. And we volition enactment them for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes,” said Austin, who was besides astatine the briefing.

The rocket that landed successful Poland Tuesday was launched during the “largest question of missiles that we’ve seen since the opening of the war,” Austin said. On Tuesday Russia launched arsenic galore arsenic 100 missiles astatine Ukraine arsenic Moscow intensifies its airstrikes pursuing important crushed losses.

Milley said it’s improbable that either broadside tin summation a subject triumph quickly. He said the accidental of Russia, which presently controls astir 20% of Ukraine, overrunning the full state “is adjacent to zero.” And, helium added, the “task of militarily kicking the Russians physically retired of Ukraine is simply a precise hard task. And it’s not going to hap successful the adjacent mates of weeks unless the Russian service wholly collapses, which is unlikely.”