The new communication between Scholz and Putin — their first since December 2022 — comes at a time of speculation about what the new administration of President-elect Trump will mean for Ukraine.

Zelensky accuses Scholz of opening ‘Pandora’s box’ after call with Putin - Zelensky said the call between Scholz and Putin is part of the latter’s strategy to avoid changing policy

Ukraine's military said it shot down dozens of drones launched by Russian forces overnight. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have spoken directly for the first time since 2022 - a move that has prompted anger from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy.