The Kremlin has denied media reports that US President-elect Donald Trump had a phone call with Vladimir Putin, where he is said to have warned the Russian president about the escalation of the war in Ukraine.
The call, which was first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is said to have taken place on Thursday.
It is reported that Trump also spoke about the US military presence in Europe to Putin.
A Kremlin spokesman said the reports were “pure fiction”, and Trump’s team told the BBC it would not comment on the president-elect’s “secret phone call”.
Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung told the BBC: “We do not comment on private phone calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
But he said the leaders have started the process of communicating with the president-elect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that there was a conversation.
“This is not completely true, it is pure fiction. That is, this is just false information. There was no discussion,” said Peskov.
Trump has promised to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, but has yet to say how he intends to do so.
Former Trump campaign adviser Bryan Lanza on Saturday he told the BBC the incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than enabling the country to recover the territory it has taken.
Trump’s spokesman distanced himself from the incoming president in these statements, saying that Mr. Lanza “does not speak for him”.
Earlier Zelensky warned against giving land to Russia and said that without American help, Ukraine will lose the war.
While Peskov on Sunday spoke to Russian state media about “good” signs from the incoming administration in the US, some said they trusted him that the future president would not abandon Ukraine.
They included John Healey, the British defense secretary, who said he expected the US to “stay close to allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine as long as it takes to defeat Putin’s aggression”.
On Sunday, during a visit to Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that any end to the war must continue.
“This is a warning to those who say this war must end, let’s end it quickly no matter what,” he said.
In Washington, America’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that the outgoing president, Joe Biden, will raise the issue with Trump that leaving Ukraine will mean greater instability in Europe.
On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that Putin could use the transition period after the US election to pressure Moscow to improve in Ukraine.
Urging Berlin and other European Union member states to extend aid to Kyiv, he said: “We don’t have time to wait until spring. Now is the turning point that Putin has been waiting for and aiming for.”
Last week, Russia and Ukraine launched their biggest drone strikes since the start of the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted 84 Ukrainian planes in six regions, including some approaching Moscow, forcing flights to be diverted from the capital’s three main airports.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched at least 145 drones aimed at all parts of the country on Saturday night, most of which were shot down.
On Monday, at least six people were killed and 21 others were injured in Ukraine following the latest series of Russian strikes.
Meanwhile, Russia said it had destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones near the western regions of Kursk and Belgorod. It reported that there were no casualties.
“Every day, every night, Russia unleashes the same terror,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter following Monday’s strike.
“There are more and more civilian targets. Russia only wants to continue the war, and each strike disproves any claims of cooperation with Russia.”
Zelensky called for “strong international support” and more weapons to stop Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, reports of Russian advances in Ukraine continue. Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that troops captured the village of Kolisnykivka in the Kharkiv region.
Russia’s territorial gains in October were the largest since March 2022, according to an analysis of data by the Institute for the Study of War conducted by the AFP news agency.
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