US and Russia have used special Ukraine war ‘deconfliction’ hotline once so far, US official says
- Few details are known about the incident that prompted the call from the US, but it was not made over the errant missile that landed in Poland, killing 2 people
- The line was used by the US to communicate concerns about Russian military operations near critical infrastructure in Ukraine, the official says
A communications line created between the militaries of the United States and Russia at the start of Moscow’s war against Ukraine has been used only once so far, a US official told Reuters.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the United States initiated a call through the “deconfliction” line to communicate its concerns about Russian military operations near critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Reuters is the first to report on the use of the deconfliction line, beyond regular testing.
Few details are known surrounding the specific incident that led to the call on the line, which connects the US military’s European Command and Russia’s National Defence Management Centre.
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Poland says blast likely caused by Ukrainian missile countering Russian air strikes
The official declined to elaborate but said it was not used when an errant missile landed in Nato-member Poland on November 15, killing two people. The blast was likely to have been caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile but Russia was ultimately responsible because it started the war in late February, Nato said.
