Russia and Ukraine launched record drone attacks on each other despite a phone call reported by the Washington Post from US President-elect Donald Trump urging Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate the conflict.
Trump’s election to the White House has the potential to upend the almost three-year conflict and has thrown into question Washington’s multi-billion dollar support for Kyiv, crucial to its defence.
The Republican said on the campaign trail that he could end the fighting within hours and has indicated he would talk directly with Putin — a major break from the approach adopted by President Joe Biden.
The Washington Post reported that Trump had had a phone call on Thursday with the Russian strongman in which he told Putin not to inflame the attritional war.
Just days after his stunning election victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris, Trump reminded Putin of Washington’s sizeable military foothold in Europe from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, according to the Post report Sunday.
The Kremlin had earlier said it saw “positive signals” from Trump’s willingness to strike a deal, and several people speaking to the US paper said Trump had expressed the desire for more conversations on “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon”.
Trump also spoke by phone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday and the pair “agreed to work together towards a return to peace in Europe”, according to Scholz’s spokesman.
Trump will not be inaugurated until January and for the moment on the battlefield and in the skies, the conflict shows no signs of subsiding.
