A mysterious plot prompts a rare call from Russia to the Pentagon

WASHINGTON – Earlier in July, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin received an unusual request from an unlikely caller: His Russian counterpart wanted to talk.

Since

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022,

Mr Austin had spoken by phone with Russia’s defence minister only five other times, almost always at the Pentagon’s initiative and often in an effort to avoid miscalculations that could escalate the conflict.

In fact, Mr Austin had reached out to Russia’s new defence minister, Mr Andrei Belousov, just a couple of weeks earlier, on June 25, in an effort to keep the “lines of communication open”, the Pentagon said. It was the first phone call between the two men since Mr Belousov, an economist, replaced Mr Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s long-running defence minister, in a Kremlin shake-up in May.

Now, on July 12, Mr Belousov was calling to relay a warning, according to two US officials and another official briefed on the call: The Russians had detected a Ukrainian covert operation in the works against Russia that they believed had the Americans’ blessing. Was the Pentagon aware of the plot, Mr Belousov asked Mr Austin, and its potential to ratchet up tensions between Moscow and Washington?

Pentagon officials were surprised by the allegation and unaware of any such plot, the two US officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the confidential phone call. But whatever Mr Belousov revealed, all three officials said, it was taken seriously enough that the Americans contacted the Ukrainians and said, essentially, “if you are thinking about doing something like this, do not”.

Despite Ukraine’s deep dependence on the US for military, intelligence and diplomatic support, Ukrainian officials are not always transparent with their American counterparts about their military operations, especially those against Russian targets behind enemy lines.

These operations have frustrated US officials, who believe that they have not measurably improved Ukraine’s position on the battlefield but have risked alienating European allies and widening the war.

Over the past two years, the operations that have unnerved the US included a strike on a Russian air base on the western coast of Crimea, a truck bombing that destroyed part of the Kerch Strait Bridge, which links Russia to Crimea, and drone strikes deep inside Russia.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia often refers to such strikes as “terrorist attacks”, and the Kremlin uses them as evidence to back up Mr Putin’s spurious claim that his invasion of Ukraine is really a defensive war. Despite America’s denials, Russian officials insist publicly that such strikes could not happen without US approval and support.

Whether the alleged Ukrainian plot in July was real and imminent is still unclear, as is what form it might have taken. Pentagon and White House officials say nothing has happened – yet. They have declined to describe the call in detail but stressed the need for dialogue among adversaries.

“During the call, the secretary emphasised the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine,” Ms Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters hours after the conversation on July 12.

Pentagon officials declined to say if Mr Austin brought up the matter in a phone call on July 23 with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr Rustem Umerov.

A Russian Defence Ministry statement after the July 12 call confirmed that Mr Belousov initiated it, adding that “the issue of preventing security threats and reducing the risk of possible escalation was discussed”. But the statement made no mention of a suspected Ukrainian covert mission.

Ukrainian officials declined to comment on the matter. The Kremlin also declined to comment for this article, and the Russian Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The rare glimpse behind the scenes of a sensitive call between defence ministers illustrates how much more there often is to private conversations between American and Russian officials than what is revealed to the public – and how the US and Russia try to manage escalation risks behind the scenes.

For instance, in the phone call in June between Mr Austin and Mr Belousov, Mr Austin “emphasised the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine”, said Major-General Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary.

Mr Austin initiated that call and “believes that keeping lines of communication open are important”, Maj-Gen Ryder said.

Mr Austin and Mr Belousov “exchanged views on the situation around Ukraine”, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement about the same call. It added that Mr Belousov “pointed to the danger of further escalation of the situation in connection with the continued supply of American weapons to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.

But two officials familiar with the call said Mr Austin also warned his Russian counterpart not to threaten US troops in Europe amid rising tensions in Ukraine.

About four days later, US defence officials raised the security alert level at military bases in Europe in response to vague threats from the Kremlin over Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons on Russian territory. NYTIMES