Russia's Shoigu holds second call with U.S. defense secretary in three days - Reuters

Oct 23 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin connected Sunday for the 2nd clip successful 3 days and held a flurry of calls with 3 different counterparts from NATO countries.

Moscow provided nary details connected the speech with Austin, which came aft the 2 men spoke connected Friday for the archetypal clip since May. Its readouts connected the different calls said Shoigu had said the concern successful Ukraine was worsening.

"They discussed the concern successful Ukraine which is rapidly deteriorating," the Russian defence ministry said of Shoigu's telephone with French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu. "It is trending towards further uncontrolled escalation."

Shoigu spoke separately to Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, and Britain's Ben Wallace.

Shoigu's ministry said helium had told his French, Turkish and British counterparts of Moscow's interest that Ukraine could detonate a "dirty bomb" - a instrumentality laced with radioactive material. Russia has provided nary grounds to substantiate specified a claim.

Previous Russian assertions that Ukraine mightiness edifice to utilizing banned weapons specified arsenic biologic arms person stirred concerns successful the West that Moscow mightiness beryllium preparing to signifier "false flag" attacks and blasted them connected Kyiv.

The Pentagon's readout of the telephone said Austin told Shoigu helium "rejected immoderate pretext for Russian escalation." Austin besides "reaffirmed the worth of continued communication."

The White House National Security Council successful a connection said it rejected Shoigu's mendacious allegations that Ukraine is preparing to usage a soiled weaponry connected its ain territory.

"The satellite would spot done immoderate effort to usage this allegation arsenic a pretext for escalation," it said.

CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

There was nary denotation from the Russian broadside that the conversations had produced immoderate affirmative results. They showed, however, that Russia and members of the U.S.-led NATO confederation are actively maintaining channels of connection astatine a clip of rising planetary interest astir a imaginable atomic escalation.

With Russia reeling from successive defeats successful Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin has said it would edifice to atomic weapons if indispensable to support its "territorial integrity." U.S. President Joe Biden has said that the satellite is person to "Armageddon" than astatine immoderate clip since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

NATO past week launched its yearly atomic deterrence workout and has said it expects Russia to clasp drills soon to trial the readiness of its ain atomic forces.

A apical Russian diplomat was quoted aft the Shoigu-Austin telephone connected Friday arsenic saying that "misunderstandings indispensable beryllium cleared up truthful that determination are nary accidents."

Lecornu aft Sunday's telephone said helium had reaffirmed France's tendency for a peaceful solution to the warfare successful Ukraine, and that Paris refused to get drawn into immoderate signifier of escalation.

Britain said Wallace had "refuted" claims by Shoigu that Western countries were facilitating a program by Kyiv to escalate the conflict.

Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Gareth Jones and Mark Porter

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