While a phone call between the UK Defence Secretary and his Russian counterpart was described as 'respectful,' Sergei Shoigu alleged the UK was planning to help Ukraine further - which would raise tensions in Moscow
But in a short, straight-forward official statement after the call, the Ministry of Defence said:"The Defence Secretary refuted these claims."It said both ministers had been"professional and respectful" during the call, but that Mr Wallace had"cautioned" Mr Shoigu against using such allegations as"a pretext for greater escalation".
The exchange came after a second call in three days between Mr Shoigu and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. It follows a similar conversation between Mr Shoigu and his French counterpart on Sunday, where the Russian warned the situation in Ukraine was rapidly deteriorating and trending towards"uncontrolled escalation".
He told Sebastien Lecornu, the French defence minister, that Moscow had concerns Ukraine could use a"dirty bomb" in the conflict.