Putin and Scholz Plan First Phone Call in Almost Two Years

(Bloomberg) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz plan to hold a phone call Friday, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 

The call is the first direct communication between the leaders in almost two years.

The conversation comes at a critical time for Ukraine as the country braces for the third winter under attack from Russia, with large parts of the country’s energy infrastructure damaged or destroyed.

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Uncertainty over support from Western allies has also been growing ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House next year. Germany is Ukraine’s second-biggest supporter after the US and has pledged billions of euros in additional aid.

Some European officials have been making last-ditch appeals to the outgoing Biden administration to shore up Kyiv’s position before the presidential term ends in January. Trump, who takes office Jan. 20, has said he’d seek a quick deal between Kyiv and Moscow, raising concerns in Europe that such an accord would be disadvantageous to Ukraine and possibly entrench gains made by Russia since it invaded in 2022.

The Europeans are asking the US to provide Ukraine with more weapons and artillery, impose additional sanctions on key Russian revenue streams and target Moscow’s ability to acquire banned technologies used in weapons.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a hastily arranged trip to Brussels on Wednesday to reassure NATO and European Union allies that the US will intensify its efforts to send resources to Ukraine ahead of the inauguration of Trump, who has strongly criticized the scale of the US effort to defend Kyiv.

The resources he mentioned — money, ammunition, weapons — mainly come from a $61 billion package passed by the US Congress earlier this year. He added that “every dollar at our disposal” will be rushed through. 

(Updates with context from third paragraph)

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