Slip of tongue about old foe

Seoul – US defence chief Lloyd Austin expressed concern about Moscow’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine but accidentally called Russia the Soviet Union – Washington’s old Cold War foe that collapsed three decades ago.

Austin was speaking in Seoul where he was asked about Russia massing troops along its boundary with Ukraine.

“Russia has a substantial amount of forces in the border region,” Austin said. “The best case though is that we won’t see an incursion by the Soviet Union into Ukraine.”