The United States and Russia have agreed to restore military communication channels to their normal levels after they were suspended shortly before the war in Ukraine began.
On Thursday, 5 Feb 2026 GMT+7, the US and Russia agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communications for the first time in over four years. This marks a sign of improving relations between the two countries since Donald Trump returned to the presidency and pushed to end the war in Ukraine.
The US military in Europe revealed that this agreement resulted from a meeting between senior military officials from Russia and America in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The US European Command stated in a press release that the restored communication channel will enable regular military-to-military contact while both sides continue efforts toward lasting peace.
High-level military communication between the US and Russia was suspended in 2021 due to rising tensions between the two countries, prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 Feb 2022.
Reopening the military hotline is an effort to ease the heightened tensions following the war’s outbreak and to avoid direct clashes between Russian and US forces.
Moscow has increasingly voiced concerns over US and NATO reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea, with some Russian officials accusing American spy planes of gathering intelligence that enables Ukraine to strike Russian targets.
Meanwhile, NATO members have expressed worries about Russian aircraft, particularly drones violating allied airspace. Some European countries view this as Moscow testing NATO’s response.
In September 2025, a swarm of Russian drones entered Polish airspace, prompting NATO jets to scramble to intercept and destroy some of the devices. This was the first direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow since the Ukraine war began.
Later that same month, NATO fighter jets had to escort three Russian warplanes out of Estonian airspace.
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Source:cna