According to Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belusov, the planned attack could have escalated the conflict.
New York Times learned .
During the conversation, Belousov claimed that the Russians had uncovered a covert operation in Ukraine that they believed was carried out with the approval of the Americans.
The Russian defense minister asked Austin whether the Pentagon was aware of this plan and whether it was aware of its potential consequences, which could escalate the conflict between Moscow and Washington.
According to Austin's response, the Pentagon was not aware of such a plan and immediately contacted the Ukrainians to warn them not to do such a thing.
Despite Ukraine's high dependence on military, intelligence, and diplomatic support from the United States, the Ukrainian side is not always transparent with its American partners regarding its military operations, especially operations against targets behind Russian defense lines.
These operations frustrate US officials, who believe that they do not improve Ukraine's position on the battlefield, but risk a possible escalation of the conflict.
In the past two years, the Ukrainians have carried out a number of operations that the United States does not like. Vladimir Putin often calls such strikes "terrorist attacks" and the Kremlin uses them as evidence to support Putin's claim that the invasion of Ukraine is actually a defensive war.
Whether the alleged Ukrainian plot this month was real is still unclear, as is what role the Americans played in it.
During the call, the minister emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine"
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters a few hours after the July 12 conversation.
But Pentagon officials declined to say whether Austin brought up the matter in a Tuesday phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov.
