- Russian President Putin announced he would speak to US President Trump imminently at an event
- Trump confirmed on Truth Social he would speak to Putin at 10 am
- After the call, Trump said no progress was made on ending the Ukraine war
Russian President Vladimir Putin while attending an event sprung a surprise by announcing he would speak to his American counterpart Donald Trump in a few minutes.
The Russian President's comments came as an answer to a question by a reporter at the event on what he would like to convey to Mr Trump, if he were to speak.
"Please don't be angry. I understand we could talk more. But it's so awkward to make [Trump] wait. He could get offended," Mr Putin said, drawing claps from the audience.
Soon after that, Mr Trump in a post on Truth Social, the social media platform owned by him, confirmed he would be speaking on call to his Russian counterpart in 15 minutes.
"Will be speaking to President Putin of Russia at 10 am. Thank you," Mr Trump said.
Later, after the phone call, the US President said he made no progress in discussions with Mr Putin on ending the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin also said Russia would pursue its aims with respect to Ukraine, now dragging through its fourth year.
Russia launched its largest-ever drone and missile attack on Ukraine on Friday just hours after the two leaders spoke on phone.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said air alerts had begun echoing out across the country as reports of the presidents' call emerged.
"Yet again, Russia is showing it has no intention of ending the war and terror," Mr Zelensky said on social media. "All of this is clear evidence that without truly large-scale pressure, Russia will not change its dumb, destructive behaviour."
He asked the US in particular to increase pressure on Moscow.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said an embassy building had been damaged in the attack but that staff were unharmed. "President Trump: Putin is mocking your peace efforts," he added in the social media post.
