US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu on Saturday after Moscow approved sending troops into Ukraine following a bloody three-month uprising there. "Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel spoke to his Russian counterpart this morning," a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Hagel then went to the White House for a meeting on the crisis. Officials said there was "no change" to the US military's presence in the region.