Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley attempted to speak with his Russian counterpart Gen. Valery Gerasimov on Tuesday following the missile that fell in Poland, but the attempts were not successful, Milley said during a press conference at the Pentagon on Wednesday. Milley spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, his Polish counterpart and other chiefs of defense in Europe after the explosion in Poland yesterday, he said.
The missile that fell in Poland was likely a Russian missile, a senior U.S. official told NBC News.
The U.S. is still trying to determine what exactly happened, Milley said, adding that the U.S. has seen “indications” that Russia was involved in the explosion.
“We’re still trying to sort all that out,” Milley said. “Clearly, there’s been some Russian involvement, we just don’t know to what degree yet.”
The U.S. is in “close contact” with the governments of Poland and Ukraine, Milley said.
“We call on Russia to cease its destabilizing activities in the region and we call on Russia to provide a full accounting of what happened,” Milley said.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said he had attempted to speak with his Russian counterpart, but the calls were not successful.
“I did attempt yesterday to reach out to Gen. Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff in Russia, was not successful in connecting with him, but we are in communication with our counterparts in Russia at various levels,” Milley said.
The U.S. is also in communication with NATO, he said.
“This is a very serious situation, it’s a tragic situation, one missile falling is one too many,” Milley said. “We call on Russia to de-escalate the situation.”
The U.S. is “closely monitoring” the situation in eastern Ukraine, Milley said.
“Russia should not mistake U.S. restraint for a lack of resolve,” Milley said. “We are prepared to respond if necessary.
Source: CNN
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