WASHINGTON — Russia’s top military officer has called his American counterpart to give advance warning of Russian exercises in the Mediterranean, officials said Thursday, in a rare exchange amid high tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The Russian Chief of the General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, got in touch General CQ Brownchairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Nov. 27 to brief him on a planned Russian naval exercise involving missile launches in the eastern Mediterranean, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
“The information was provided to prevent possible incidents in light of the presence of US and NATO warships near the area of the Russian exercise,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry previously reported that the Russian Navy’s three-day exercises that concluded on Tuesday involved two frigates that conducted practice launches of new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles and a submarine that fired Kalibr cruise missiles. As part of the exercises, Russian forces also fired an Onyx missile from a ground launcher at a training target at sea.
The Pentagon said Brown and Gerasimov discussed a number of global and regional security issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, during their first call since Brown became chairman in October 2023. Gerasimov briefed Brown on the live-fire exercise but did not discuss specific weapons. systems that would be used.
In addition, Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met with two senior officials in the new Trump administration, working to secure crucial support for Ukraine from newly elected President Donald Trump.
Yermak was in the U.S. on Wednesday for talks with Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, Trump’s pick for his national security adviser, and Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general whom Trump has named as envoy to Ukraine, a person familiar with the meeting said. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Neither side provided immediate details about the session. It was one of several meetings Trump aides had with foreign representatives before Trump took office on January 20, 2025.
Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has called for a quick end to fighting in Russia’s nearly three-year war against Ukraine’s Western government. He has provided few details about his plans.
Ukrainians and many of their supporters are hoping for continued military and diplomatic support from the US so that the country can get the best possible terms in any possible ceasefire negotiations.