US-Russian defense chiefs break ice

WASHINGTON/KYIV — The US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu spoke for the first time since May on Friday, a call that a top Russian diplomat said was needed to eliminate misunderstandings.

The Pentagon declined to give details beyond saying that Austin, who initiated the call, emphasized a need for lines of communication amid the conflict in Ukraine.

"Misunderstandings must be cleared up so that there are no accidents," TASS news agency quoted Konstantin Gavrilov, a Russian diplomat in Vienna, as telling Russian television. "These are always important contacts, and it's important the Americans were the first to go for it."

Gavrilov, a senior security negotiator, said that in the wake of the call Moscow expected clarification about nuclear deterrence exercises that NATO is carrying out, TASS said.

On Friday Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up a dam in southern Ukraine that would cause severe flooding. Russia has accused Ukraine of rocketing the dam and planning to destroy it in what Kyiv officials have called a sign that Russia may blow it up and blame Ukraine. Neither side produced evidence to back up their allegations.

The dam holds back 18 cubic kilometers of water, and its destruction could devastate much of the Kherson region. It supplies water to Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The Stimson Center research group in Washington estimates the Ukraine conflict has reduced the US stockpiles of Javelin anti-tank weapons by as much as one-third and Stinger missile inventories by 25 percent.

The US has committed more than $17.5 billion in weapons and equipment to Ukraine since February, raising questions among some members of Congress as to whether it is assuming too much risk. The Pentagon will not provide figures on its own stockpiles.

A Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Gen Pat Ryder, said that when Austin recently met top government weapons buyers of scores of countries he discussed the need to "not only replenish our own stocks as an international community, but also ensure that we can continue to support Ukraine".

Ukraine's air force said on Saturday that Russia had launched "a massive missile attack" targeting "critical infrastructure".

On Saturday authorities of Kherson told residents to leave the city immediately before what was said to be an expected advance by Ukrainian troops.

The regional administration strongly urged civilians to use boat crossings over a major river to move, citing a tense situation on the front and the threat of shelling and alleged plans for "terrorist attacks" by Ukraine.

Thousands of civilians have left Kherson across the Dnipro River in recent days after warnings of a looming Ukrainian offensive to recapture the city, but Saturday's warning was delivered with renewed urgency.

Finnish officials will arrive in Ankara on Tuesday to discuss their country's request to join NATO, Turkiye's state-run news agency said on Saturday.

A delegation from Finland's Justice Ministry will meet Kasim Cicek, the head of foreign relations at the Turkish Ministry of Justice, Anadolu Agency said. The talks will focus on the extradition of individuals Turkiye regards as terrorists, the report said.

Both Finland and its neighbor Sweden applied for membership of the defense alliance after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, abandoning policies of military nonalignment. Becoming a NATO member requires the unanimous support of all current members.

Agencies via Xinhua