The Kremlin has denied media reports that US President-elect Donald Trump had a call with Vladimir Putin in which he allegedly warned the Russian President not to escalate the war in Ukraine.
The call, first reported by the Washington Post on Sunday, is believed to have occurred on Thursday.
Trump is also said to have mentioned America’s extensive military presence in Europe to Putin.
A Kremlin spokesman said the reports were “pure fiction”, while Trump’s team told the BBC it would not comment on the president-elect’s “private calls”.
Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung told the BBC: “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
However, he said leaders have begun the process of contacting the president-elect.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the conversation took place.
“This is completely untrue, it is just fiction. That is, this is just false information. There was no conversation,” Peskov said.
Trump has promised to end the nearly three-year war in Ukraine, but has not yet spelled out how he plans to do that.
Former Trump campaign adviser Bryan Lanza on Saturday told the BBC The incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than creating conditions for the country to reclaim occupied territory.
A Trump spokesman distanced the incoming president from the remarks, saying Mr. Lanza “does not speak for him.”
Zelensky had previously warned against giving ground to Russia and said that without US aid, Ukraine would lose the war.
While Peskov on Sunday spoke to Russian state media about “positive” signals from the incoming US administration, others said they were confident the future president would not abandon Ukraine.
They include John Healey, the British Defense Secretary, who said he expected the US “to stand by allies like the UK, standing by Ukraine until it overcomes Putin’s invasion”.
On Sunday, during a visit to Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that any end to the war would need to be sustainable.
“This is a warning to those who say this war must end, so let’s end it as soon as possible no matter what,” he said.
In Washington, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said outgoing President Joe Biden would explain to Trump that leaving Ukraine would mean greater instability in Europe.
On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned that Putin could take advantage of the US post-election transition period to put pressure on Moscow in Ukraine.
Calling on Berlin and European Union member states to increase aid to Kyiv, she said: “We do not have time to wait until spring. Now is the transition period that Putin has been waiting for and aiming for.” .
Last week, Russia and Ukraine launched their largest drone attacks since the start of the war.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had intercepted 84 Ukrainian drones over six regions, including several that were approaching Moscow, causing flights to be diverted from the capital’s three major airports.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 145 drones across the country on Saturday night, most of which were shot down.
On Monday, at least six people were killed and 21 others injured in Ukraine after the latest series of Russian airstrikes.
Meanwhile, Russia said it destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones near the western areas of Kursk and Belgorod. It reported no deaths.
“Every day, every night, Russia inflicts the same horror,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on Twitter after Monday’s attack.
“More and more civilian locations are being targeted. Russia just wants to continue the war and each of their attacks negates any diplomatic statements from Russia.”
Zelensky requested “stronger global support” and more weapons to deter Russian aggression.
Meanwhile, reports of Russia’s advances in Ukraine continue. Moscow’s Defense Ministry said on Monday that its forces had captured the village of Kolisnykivka in the Kharkiv region.
According to analysis of data by the Institute for the Study of War by AFP news agency, Russia’s territorial gains in October were the largest since March 2022.
