Ukraine's Defense Minister Is Refusing To Answer U.S. Secretary Of Defense Hagel's Phone Calls

Minister Lebedev and US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. FOX News

Anyone Home? Ukraine Isn't Taking The Pentagon's Calls -- Reuters

(Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has been unable to get anyone on the phone at Ukraine's defense ministry over the past several days as violence flared and Kiev named a new head of the armed forces general staff, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

"We haven't been able to connect with anybody from the Defense Ministry there in Ukraine," spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told a Pentagon news briefing.

"Here in the Pentagon, we've been trying to (connect with them) pretty diligently this whole week."

Kirby said he was also unaware of any successful military-to-military contacts between United States and Ukraine, and acknowledged it is usually not so difficult for Hagel to get a foreign counterpart on the phone. Hagel and the Ukrainian defense minister spoke in December, Kirby noted.

"I'd say it's pretty unusual," he said.

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More News On The Pentagon Not Being Able To Get In Touch With Ukraine's Defense Ministry

Ukrainian defense ministry not taking Hagel’s calls -- Stars and Stripes
Hagel Fails To Reach Ukraine Counterpart -- Military.com
Hagel not able to engage Ukrainian counterpart -- USA Today
Pentagon Unable to Contact Ukrainian Military Despite Repeated Calls -- US News and World Report
Ukrainian Defense Minister Refuses Secretary Hagel's Calls -- FOX News
Ukrainian Defense Officials Rebuff Hagel's Calls -- NBC News
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Is Ignoring Hagel’s Calls -- Defense One
Hagel Urges Ukrainian Military to Stay Out of Unrest -- US Department of Defense

My Comment: I can understand why Ukraine's defense minister is ignoring phone calls from the Pentagon .... the crisis in Ukraine has the potential of breaking out into a civil war with bloodshed and destruction on a national scale .... who has the time to placate what the Americans may be feeling at the moment. But U.S. concerns are justified because I suspect that they must know that the Ukraine Defense Minister is NOT refusing any phone calls from his Russian counterpart .... and I suspect that U.S. intelligence is hearing on the grape wine that Ukraine officials are developing scenarios that will involve declaring a State of Emergency and a military intervention. In short .... making a very bad situation even worse.