Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy says Putin has got what he wanted after rare call with German leader (2025)

That's all our coverage on the war in Ukraine for now.

Here's a round-up of today's headlines before we go:

German chancellor calls Russian president

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone for an hour, the first time they have had direct contact since December 2022.

The German government said Olaf Scholz condemned "Russia's war of aggression" during the call, calling on Putin to end it by withdrawing troops.

While the Kremlin said despite differences of the two leaders, the dialogue was "extremely positive".

Putin phone call has opened 'Pandora's box'

Reacting to the phone call between Russia and Germany, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Putin has got exactly what he wanted.

He said the conversation between the two leaders undermined efforts to isolate the Russian leader.

"Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words," Zelenskyy said.

"And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: It is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation."

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said"strong actions, not phone calls" are needed to push the Russian president "towards peace".

One dead and 10 injured in Ukrainian port city

One person has died and at least 10 others have been injured in an overnight Russian airstrike in Odesa, officials said.

Oleh Kiper, the regional governor of the southern port city, said a multistorey residential building was destroyed in the centre of the city and that high-rise flats and cars were damaged.

While the region's mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov said the attack temporarily left more than 40,000 people without heating.

Also tonight, the Russian defence ministry said it intercepted a series of Ukrainian drones - 15 of which were in the Kursk region where Ukrainian troops launched a surprise incursion back in August.

Russia to cut off natural gas to Austria

The chancellor of Austria has said "no home will go cold" as Russia's Gazprom is expected to cut off its natural gas supply to the country from tomorrow.

In a notice published on the central European gas hub platform, Austrian oil and gas company OMV said it had been informed by Gazprom that the Russian gas producer would reduce its deliveries of natural gas to zero from 5am tomorrow morning.

The country is one of the few European states still dependent on Russian gas, as others reduced imports following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The US, Japan and South Korea have said they "strongly condemn" the decisions by leaders in Russia and North Korea to "dangerously expand" the war in Ukraine.

In a joint statement, the three nations said the deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including the transfer of munitions and ballistic missiles, is "particularly egregious" given Russia's status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

The US first said it had evidence that North Korea had sent at least 3,000 troops to Russia last month, which it marked as a "significant escalation".

Last week Kyiv announced that it had struck units from Pyongyang in the Kursk region of Russia following a subsequent deployment.

In the joint statement earlier today, the US, Japan and South Korea said: "We remain resolute as ever in supporting Ukraine as it exercises its inherent right to self defence as enshrined in Article 51 of the UN Charter."

Russian air defence units have claimed to have intercepted a series of Ukrainian drones.

The Russian defence ministry said 15 of the drones were stopped in the Kursk region, with one in the border region of Bryansk, another in the Lipetsk region further north, and one in the central Oryol region.

The governor of the Belgorod region, a frequent target onthe Ukrainian border, said a series of attacks had smashedwindows in an apartment building and caused other damage, but nocasualties were reported.

Ukrainian soldiers will receive financial bonuses for completing combat missions in Russia, according to the Ukrainian government's representative in parliament.

Taras Melnychuk wrote on the Telegram messaging app that Ukrainian military personnel operating in the Kursk region will receive an additional monthly payment of 100,000 hryvnias (approximately £1,900), proportional to the amount of time they have spent on combat missions there.

They will also receive a lump sum payment of 70,000 hryvnias (approx £1,300) for every 30 days of combat.

He said the bonuses are only being offered to those currently involved in combat in the Kursk region.

Kyiv launched the surprise offensive into Kursk in August, and while Russian forces have recaptured about half of the territory initially lost, fighting continues.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that Ukraine was holding off around 50,000 troops in the region.

The Biden administration has been asked to review whether Elon Musk's reported contact with Russian officials should force a review of the tech billionaire's involvement in SpaceX's US government contracts.

Two Democratic senators asked the current government to implement the review.

"These relationships between a well-known US adversary and Mr Musk, a beneficiary of billions of dollars in US government funding, pose serious questions," senators Jeanne Shaheen and Jack Reed, who chairs the ArmedService Committee, said in a joint letter.

According to Reuters, several Democratic politicians have publicly called for a probe into Musk's communications with Moscow since a Wall Street Journal report last month alleged he has had multiple conversations with Russian officials including Vladimir Putin and his first deputy chief of staff Sergei Kiriyenko.

Mr Shaheen and Mr Reed said in the letter it was "deeply concerning" that Musk reportedly had conversations with Kiriyenko after he was one of those charged this year with spearheading an AI-powered social media propaganda campaign to promote Russian interests and influence voters ahead of the US presidential election.

SpaceX, Musk and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Apple has reportedly deleted a US-funded news app from the Russian App Store.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Russian-language outlet, Radio Svoboda, said today it has been taken off the app, at the request of Moscow's communications regulator Roskomnadzor.

One of RFE/RL's local websites in Russia said Apple had notified Radio Svoboda, which means "freedom" in Russian, that the app was being deleted.

Russia has put dozens of opposition media websites on blacklists and banned several foreign social-media platforms under Vladimir Putin as a way to limit access to independent media.

The country often accusesblocked sites of false reporting.

Russia has advised all its citizens to leave a breakaway Georgian region after protesters stormed the parliament building.

Issuing the warning earlier this afternoon, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a "crisis situation" had developed in its "neighbouring friendly Abkhazia" and that all Russians in the region should leave.

She said citizens who were planning to travel to Abkhazia - which broke away from Georgia during wars in the early 1990s - should refrain from doing so.

Protesters in Russian-backed Abkhazia were demanding the resignation of its leader over an unpopular investment agreement with Moscow.

In the capital, Sukhumi, protesters used a truck to smash through the metal gates surrounding parliament, then climbed through windows after wrenching off metal bars.

Emergency services said at least nine people were taken to hospital.

Temur Gulia, an opposition leader, told the Reuters news agency that protesters initially demanded the government scrap the investment agreement - which critics feared would clear the way for wealthy Russian individuals and businesses to buy up property in the Black Sea region, pricing out locals.

But said they have now gone further and want to oust President Aslan Bzhania.

The presidential administration said in a statement that authorities were preparing to withdraw the investment agreement.

Olesya Vartanyan, an independent regional expert, said the crisis was the culmination of mounting Russian pressure to get more from Abkhazia in return for its financial support.

The chancellor of Austria has said "no home will go cold" asRussia's Gazprom is expected to cut off its natural gas supply to the country from tomorrow.

In a notice published on the central European gas hubplatform, Austrian oil and gas company OMV said it hadbeen informed by Gazprom that the Russian gas producerwould reduce its deliveries of natural gas to zero from 5am tomorrow morning.

The country is one of the few European states still dependent on Russian gas, as others reduced imports following Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Chancellor Karl Nehammer said today that the decision by Gazprom has been long expected since the start of the war and the country has been "preparing for this situation".

The cut-off follows OMV's announcement that it would stop paying for Gazprom gas to its Austrian arm to offset a €230m (£192m) arbitration award it won over an earlier cut-off of gas to its German subsidiary.

Nehammer said the country's underground gas storage is full and that it has alternative, non-Russia supplies.

"Austria cannot be blackmailed," he said, adding: "No home will go cold."

Representatives for OMV and Gazprom have not yet officially commented.

By Siobhan Robbins, Europe correspondent

They haven't spoken in nearly two years - so today's call between the German chancellor and Vladimir Putin is fascinating in its timing.

Shortly after the pair hung up, lines from the German camp quickly underlined that Olaf Scholz had condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine and called on Putin to withdraw troops and put an end to fighting.

"The Federal Chancellor urged Russia's willingness to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and emphasised Germany's unwavering determination to keep Ukraine in the peace process," a government spokesman said in a statement confirming the conversation.

The call between the two leaders lasted around an hour, with Scholz also condemning the Russian air strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and saying the deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight against Ukraine would lead to a serious escalation of the conflict.

The strong words are not a surprise.

Once one of Russia's key economic partners, relations between the two countries dramatically deteriorated following the outbreak of the war in 2022.

Germany is now one of Ukraine's main supporters in terms of aid and weapons.

But that is perhaps not the only motivation behind the frank conversation.

Scholz's government has crumbled, a general election is expected in February and if the polls are right, he is likely to lose his job as chancellor.

Warming up for the political battle, in a speech this week he depicted himself as the safe choice for voters, suggesting his steady leadership had helped avoid an escalation of war in Europe.

And what better way to emphasise he is the best person to deal with the Russian president than a well-timed call with him.

Trump 2.0 adds to pressure

But next year's vote isn't the only ticking clock facing the chancellor.

Donald Trump's return to the White House also adds to the pressure.

The president-elect has claimed he will end the war quickly, which many in Europe fear could result in a bad deal for Ukraine.

On Tuesday, foreign ministers from Poland, Germany, France, the UK and Italy will meet to discuss the war in Ukraine, Trump's election and Europe's political future.

With so much uncertainty around America's commitment to NATO and Ukraine come January, it's prudent that the chancellor of Europe's biggest economic power should make a call to Moscow and ensure he's central to conversations with Russia.

Today, Scholz is said to have reaffirmed his unwavering support for Kyiv, warning Putin that he couldn't "count on time being on his side" and urging him to enter serious negotiations.

The Kremlin also released its own version of the chat, blaming the crisis on what it described as NATO's long-standing "aggressive policy" which it claims ignores Moscow's security and the rights of Russian-speaking residents.

Russia also didn't miss the opportunity to put the boot into Germany by blaming the decline in their relations on "the unfriendly course of the German authorities".

There was however no mention of the allegations of sabotage, cyber-attack and espionage which Moscow is accused of carrying out by the aforementioned "unfriendly" German officials.

At the end of the conversation, the leaders agreed to remain in touch.

We are told Scholz also spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy before and after the conversation.

Far from overjoyed, Zelenskyy reportedly said the call would help the Russian leader by reducing his isolation and ultimately keep the war in Ukraine going, according to Reuters quoting a source in the president's office.

The concern is understandable.

Russia is making ground on the battlefield and Kyiv's success is reliant on continued support from both the US and Germany; both countries whose leadership is now in flux.

In his evening address, President VolodymyrZelenskyy has said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call withVladimir Putin has opened "Pandora's box".

He said the conversation between the two leaders undermined efforts toisolate the Russian leader.

"Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just alot of words," Zelenskyy said.

"And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: Itis extremely important for him to weaken his isolation."

Following the phone call, the Kremlin said Moscow was open to new peace talks and pointed to Putin's earlier proposal that Kyiv should cede territory and back off its plans to join NATO.

But with the conflict reaching its 1,000th day next week, Zelenskyy said this evening there will be "no new Minsk Agreement" (two ceasefire/peace agreements both sides agreed to back in 2014 and again in 2015) with Ukraine wanting "fair peace".

In a statement, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said Scholz condemned "Russia's war of aggression" during the call, calling on Putin to end it by withdrawing troops.

"The chancellor urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace and stressed Germany's unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression for as long as necessary," the spokesman said.