Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised German chancellor Olaf Scholz for speaking with Russian president Vladimir Putin over the phone for the first time in two years.Mr Scholz urged Putin to pull his forces out of Ukraine and open talks with Kyiv in order to set the region on course for a “just and lasting peace”.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine must do all it can to ensure the war with Russia ends next year through diplomacy. The Ukrainian President was reacting to Donald Trump's win in the US election.