MOSCOW, October 23. /TASS/. The situation in Ukraine was the focus of telephone talks between Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin, the second ones in the past three days, the Russian defense ministry said on Sunday.

"Telephone talks between Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The two defense ministers discussed the situation in Ukraine," the ministry said.

The two defense chiefs spoke over the phone on Friday. The call was initiated by the US side.

Earlier in the day, Shoigu spoke over the phone with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, Ben Wallace, Sebastien Lecornu and Hulusi Akar, to convey Russia’s concerns over possible provocations with the use of a dirty bomb in Ukraine.

The topic of Ukraine’s nuclear blackmail was raised by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who said earlier that Kiev has planned to make a dirty bomb of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.