Source says Trump advised Putin not to escalate Ukraine war, Kremlin denies conversation

US President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, a source familiar with the conversation said, but the Kremlin denied the two had spoken.

The source told Reuters on Sunday that Trump, who has criticized the scale of US military and economic support for Kiev and said he wants to end the war quickly, had spoken with Putin in recent days.

The Washington Post first reported that the call had taken place, citing unidentified sources, and said Trump had told Putin not to escalate the Ukraine war.

But in an unusual move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that no such call had taken place.

“This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information,” he told reporters. “There was no conversation.”

“This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information being published now, sometimes even in quite reputable publications,” he said.

Asked if Putin had plans for any contacts with Trump, Peskov said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”

Trump spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Wednesday.

Asked about the alleged Trump-Putin call, Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, said, “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”

The Republican will take office on January 20 after defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 presidential election. Biden has invited Trump to come to the Oval Office on Wednesday, the White House said.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that Biden’s top message will be his commitment to ensure a peaceful transfer of power, and he will also talk to Trump about what’s happening in Europe, in Asia and the Middle East.

“President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to Congress and the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe,” Sullivan said to CBS News Meet the nation show.

Massive drone attack on Moscow

Sullivan’s comments came as Ukraine attacked Moscow with at least 34 drones on Sunday, the biggest drone attack on the Russian capital since the start of the war. On Monday, drones, glide bombs and a ballistic missile struck southern Ukraine, killing at least six civilians and wounding around 30 others.

When asked if Biden would ask Congress to pass legislation to authorize more funding for Ukraine, Sullivan deferred.

“I’m not here to make a specific bill. President Biden will make the case that we need ongoing resources for Ukraine beyond the end of his term,” Sullivan said.

For weeks, Russia has signaled to the United States and its allies that if they give Ukraine permission to strike deep into Russian territory with Western-supplied missiles, Moscow will consider it a major escalation.

Putin said on September 12 that Western approval of such a move would mean “direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine” because NATO military infrastructure and personnel would have to be involved in targeting and launching the missiles .

Washington has provided $10 billion worth of US military and economic aid to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022, funding that Trump has repeatedly criticized and clashed with other Republican lawmakers.

Trump insisted last year that Putin would never have invaded Ukraine if he had been in the White House at the time. He told Reuters that Ukraine may have to cede territory to reach a peace deal, something the Ukrainians reject and which Biden has never suggested.

Zelenskyy said on Thursday that he was not aware of any details of Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war quickly and that he was confident that a quick end would entail major concessions for Kiev.

According to the Government Accountability Office, Congress appropriated over $174 billion to Ukraine under Biden. The pace of aid is almost certain to slow under Trump, with Republicans set to take control of the US Senate with a 52-seat majority. Control of the US House of Representatives in the next Congress is not yet clear, with some votes still being counted.

Putin sees the 2½-year-old war as a battle between Russia and the declining West, which he says ignored Russia’s interests after the Soviet collapse in 1991.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Putin launched an imperialist war against its smaller neighbor and has repeatedly said that if Russia wins the war, autocratic countries around the world will be emboldened.

Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty, a Trump ally considered a top candidate for secretary of state, criticized U.S. funding for Ukraine in a CBS interview.

“The American people want sovereignty protected here in America before we use our funds and resources to protect another nation’s sovereignty.”