Pentagon seeks backchannels with Russian to prevent Ukraine invasion escalating to nuclear war, report says

• The Pentagon is trying to open backchannels with Russian counterparts, Politico reported.
• It came amid concern that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could ignite into a wider conflict.

Pentagon officials were seeking Monday to establish a backchannel to Russian military chiefs to prevent the Russian invasions of Ukraine from escalating, Politico reported.

Citing two officials at the US Department of Defense, Politico reported that there were urgent behind-the-scenes efforts underway to establish lines of contact with the Russian military.

They aim would be to discuss where their respective "red lines" lay and avid misunderstanding.

It would build on a communications channel established by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark Milley, and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, when the two met in Helsinki last September, according to the report.

The channel would reportedly be modeled on one established during the Syrian conflict, where Russia and the US backed opposing forces.

The DoD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

The move came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday placed Russia's nuclear arsenal in an increased state of readiness in what he said was a response to "aggressive statements" from NATO countries.

He has raised the prospect of nuclear conflict while warning Western countries to keep out of the Russian invasion.

Nonetheless, Western nations imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, isolating its financial institutions and prompting a crash in the value of its currency which began on Monday.