Then, in response to Trump’s claim that during their phone call, he asked—in some accounts, warned —Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman denied that the two had spoken on the phone at all. (Putin issued his belated congratulations at a news conference.)

The Kremlin has dismissed reports suggesting a recent phone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled these claims as "pure fiction,

NATO allies believe Russian President Vladimir Putin aims to reclaim territory lost to Ukraine in the Kursk region before Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, reports The Telegraph. Western diplomats caution that Putin might act swiftly to capture this area,

The British newspaper The Telegraph reports that Vladimir Putin wants the Russian military to retake parts of the Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces before Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the USA.

President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged him not to escalate the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post said Sunday.