Trump encouraged Putin to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict during a recent phone call, highlighting US military strength in Europe.
President-elect Donald Trump urged Russian President Putin to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine during a phone call from Mar-a-Lago.
Trump reminded Putin of the U.S. military presence in Europe and expressed interest in talks to end the Ukraine war.
The conversation came on the heels of Trump’s Wednesday call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which also included tech mogul Elon Musk.
Zelensky described the call as “excellent,” expressing optimism about continued dialogue and cooperation with the incoming administration.
Russia-Ukraine war
The Russia-Ukraine war, ongoing for over two and a half years, sees both sides making moves to gain negotiation leverage.
This weekend brought the biggest drone attacks yet from both sides.
Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine overnight, Zelensky said, while Russia said it had downed 34 Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow on Sunday.
A Changing Landscape
Trump’s election is seen as carrying the potential to upend the almost three-year Ukraine conflict, as he insists on a quick end to the fighting and casts doubt on Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv.
The outgoing Democratic administration of President Joe Biden has confirmed that it will send as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
On Sunday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan reaffirmed President Joe Biden’s commitment to Ukraine, stressing the need for continued US support until Biden’s final day in office. “We aim to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield,” Sullivan said in an interview with ‘Face the Nation’.
