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US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin urged Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday to move immediately to implement a ceasefire in Ukraine.
It was their first conversation since before the war began, the Pentagon said.
“Secretary Austin urged an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and emphasised the importance of maintaining lines of communication,” it in a statement.
It is the first time Mr Austin has spoken with Mr Shoigu since February 18, six days before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, said Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.
The call came as the two sides battle along a long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, with the Pentagon maintaining that Russia is weeks behind goals set in its war plan.
But Moscow has shown no indication of pulling back and is believed by western intelligence to want to take control of a swathe of southern Ukraine stretching along the Black Sea to Moldova.
The call also came as Finland and Sweden have expressed the desire to join Nato, a direct consequence of Russia's attack on Ukraine, which is not part of the defence alliance.
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Russian Navy logistics support ship the 'Vsevolod Bobrov', pictured off Istanbul in January, has reportedly caught fire after a Ukrainian airstrike in the Black Sea. Reuters -
A mother and child who fled Ukraine arrive back in Kyiv from Poland. The daily number returning has exceeded those leaving for the first time since the February invasion. AFP -
A Ukrainian tank - with a soldier in it - is carried by a transporter near Bakhmut. AFP -
A metro station used as a bomb shelter in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
Rocket trails in the sky over Pylypchatyne, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A special session of the UN Human Rights Council on Ukraine is held in Geneva, Switzerland. AFP -
Burnt vehicles and the remains of what appears to be a makeshift bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Protesters outside a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the war in Ukraine, in Geneva. Inside, Ukrainians lambasted the 'sheer horror' and 'pure evil' being inflicted on their country by Russian forces. AFP -
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on economic issues via a video link in Moscow. AFP -
An explosion at the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Players walk onto the pitch before a benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine at Borussia-Park in Moenchengladbach, Germany. EPA -
Russian service members atop an armoured vehicle in Mariupol. Reuters -
The Kalush Orchestra from Ukraine perform at the Eurovision Village in Turin, Italy. AP Photo -
Borussia Moenchengladbach fans and Ukraine supporters stand united ahead of the benefit football match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and the national team of Ukraine. EPA -
Children gather at a playground in Mariupol. Reuters -
Three Ukrainian policemen stand at an explosion site in Novomykolaivka, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
The Iron Spear 2022 military exercise led by Nato-enhanced Forward Presence battlegroup in Adazi, Latvia, on May 11. Reuters / Ints Kalnins -
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Finnish President Sauli Niinisto shake hands in Helsinki, Finland, after signing a declaration between the UK and Finland to deepen their defence and security co-operation. Reuters -
Russian paratroopers go on the attack in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. EPA
