Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday publicly congratulated Donald Trump on his presidential election victory and said he would welcome a phone call any time from the American leader to discuss a conclusion to the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a forum at Moscow-based think Valdai Discussion Club, Putin explained that he had not yet called Trump himself because, after all, he insisted that the West stopped speaking to Russia, not the other way around.
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“I don’t think it would be inappropriate for me to call him,” Putin said, “but I’m not doing it because Western leaders used to call me almost weekly, then suddenly stopped. Well, if they don’t want to, that’s fine.”
“If any of them wants to re-establish contact, I always say: We have nothing against it. Please, we are ready to resume contacts and engage in discussions,” he added.
I think we’ll speak
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and several other world leaders have already called Trump after Wednesday morning’s election results, Putin used the forum at the think tank to offer his praise.
“Taking this opportunity, I would like to congratulate him [Trump] on being elected president of the United States. I have already stated that we will work with any head of state entrusted by the American people.”
The Russian autocrat went on to talk about how he was “impressed” by Trump’s “brave” reaction to the failed attempt on his life on the campaign trail, when the former president’s right ear was grazed by a bullet.
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When asked by NBC News after his election victory if he had heard from Putin, Trump simply noted, “I think we’ll speak.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that Trump’s team already has drafted a proposal to end the ongoing war in Ukraine war. Allegedly, the plan outlines that Ukraine should give up its NATO membership aspirations for at least 20 years, the freezing of the current front lines and the establishment of a demilitarized zone between Russian-held territory and Ukraine.
Speaking to a gathering of European leaders in Budapest, Zelensky dismissed suggestions that any deal should include territorial concessions, insisting that any negotiations with Russia should be seen as achieving “peace through strength.”
“There has been much talk about the need to yield to Putin, to back down, to make some concessions,” Zelensky told the summit in Hungary.
“It’s unacceptable for Ukraine and unacceptable for all Europe,” he said.
At least 40 injured and four dead in continued Russian drone attacks across Ukraine
Less than a day after a massive drone strike on Kyiv smashed a restaurant, high-rise residential buildings, industrial sites and caused significant damage to a hospital, Russian forces targeted the cities of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, killing at least four civilians.
The Regional Military Administration in Zaporizhzhia wrote on social media that “Forty people were injured, including four children. This is the consequence of the enemy’s air attack on Zaporizhzhia. Boys aged 15, 5 and 1 and a four-month-old girl are under medical supervision.”
The nation’s emergency services reported that the death toll in the nation’s seventh-largest city rose to four. About 30 people remained in the hospital on Friday morning.
“The oncology hospital building was damaged. Rescue teams are searching for people under the rubble,” Zelensky wrote on X about the strikes in Zaporizhzhia. “Each of these Russian attacks not only kills people and devastates lives but also obliterates any words about the lack of conversations with Russia or some calls to the Kremlin. They take pleasure in killing people.”
Meanwhile, regional authorities in Odesa on Thursday night reported drone attacks along the region’s capital city and the Black Sea city of Pivdenne.
“The enemy is attacking Odesa and the surrounding area with drones. Our air defense forces have been activated. Stay in shelters!” the military administration warned on social media.
At the summit in Hungary, Zelensky said that Russian-caused damages in the war now total more than $800 billion, according to international organizations.
Rutte plans to impress upon Trump the dangers of Russian technology in North Korean hands
On Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that he “looks forward” to meeting with Trump to ensure that he understands the grave danger that the growing Russian-North Korean collaboration poses to allies and to reinforce America’s commitment to the Alliance.
Over the past couple of years, Trump has complained that European allies have not been pulling their weight, financially, in NATO, and his remarks have had allies worried that American aid to Ukraine could come to an end during his tenure as commander-in-chief.
Speaking at the Budapest summit where Zelensky delivered his remarks, Rutte told European leaders that North Korea’s involvement in Ukraine is a direct threat to the United States and voiced the need to convince Trump to keep backing Kyiv, AFP reported.
“What we see more and more is that North Korea, Iran, China and of course Russia are working together, working together against Ukraine,” Rutte said at a press conference there.
“At the same time, Russia has to pay for this, and one of the things they are doing is delivering technology to North Korea, which is now threatening in future the mainland of the US, continental Europe,” he said.
“I look forward to sitting down with Donald Trump to discuss how we can face these threats collectively.”
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