Russia discusses Ukraine in calls with France, Turkey, UK

MOSCOW: Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held phone calls on Sunday with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, during which they discussed Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said.

“The situation in Ukraine, which has a steady tendency towards further, uncontrolled escalation, was discussed,” by Shoigu and France’s Sebastien Lecornu, the ministry said.

Later on Sunday, the ministry said Shoigu held phone calls with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar and UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

In all three calls, Shoigu conveyed “concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a ‘dirty bomb'”.  The statements did not provide further details.

On Friday, Shoigu held a rare phone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Both sides confirmed they discussed Ukraine.

It was only the second call between the ministers since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine on February 24. Back in May, Austin had urged Moscow to implement an “immediate ceasefire”.

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A day earlier, it was reported that more than a dozen Russian missiles pounded critical infrastructure across Ukraine, with several regions reporting strikes on energy facilities and power outages.

At the same time, Russian authorities in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson urged civilians to leave immediately citing what they called a tense military situation.

The Ukrainian military said it was making gains as its forces moved southward through Kherson region, taking over at least two villages it said Russian troops had abandoned.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram app regarding Russian attacks on infrastructure that began overnight: “The enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down.”

The air force command earlier had said 33 missiles had been fired at Ukraine on Saturday morning, adding that 18 of them had been shot down.

Since Oct 10, Russia has launched devastating salvos at Ukraine’s power infrastructure, which have hit at least half of its thermal power generation and up to 40% of the entire system.