U.S., Russia defense chiefs speak for 1st time since Ukraine invasion

The U.S. and Russian defense chiefs spoke by phone Friday for the first time since Moscow invaded Ukraine in late February, with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pressing for an immediate cease-fire, the Pentagon said.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had agreed to the call after the United States "consistently" asked for one, but it did not appear to result in any major change to Russia's stance on the war, a U.S. defense official said.The last time Austin spoke with Shoigu was Feb. 18, about a week before Russia began its military campaign against its Eastern European neighbor, ac…READ FULL ARTICLE