WASHINGTON, November 25 – RIA Novosti. The Pentagon press service said on Friday that Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin had a phone call with German Defense Minister Christina Lambrecht on Friday, during which the parties discussed joint measures to support Ukraine and strengthen the security of NATO’s eastern flank.

According to the statement released after the meeting, the heads of the defense ministries of the two countries “discussed joint efforts to support Ukraine and strengthen security on NATO’s eastern flank.”

“Secretary Austin praised Germany’s leadership role in providing security assistance to Ukraine… Ministers agreed to closely coordinate efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine and strengthen NATO’s defense capabilities,” the Pentagon said.

Russia had previously sent a note to NATO countries for arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation reported that NATO countries were “playing with fire” by supplying weapons to Ukraine. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping weapons into Ukraine from the West does not contribute to the success of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations and will have a negative effect.