In first call after election win, Trump asks Putin not to escalate Ukraine war: Report

Mangalore Today News Network

United State, November 11, 2024: US President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time since his resounding victory in the recent presidential election, several people familiar with the matter told the Washington Post. During the call, Trump reportedly told Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

Trump spoke to the Russian leader from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and reminded him of the sizable US military presence in Europe, said a person familiar with the call. The two leaders also discussed the goal of peace on the European continent and Trump expressed an interest in follow-up conversations to discuss “the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon."

 

The call comes amid general uncertainty as to how Trump would proceed with his promise of bringing an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. Trump privately signalled that he would support a deal that lets Russia keep some captured territory and briefly raised the issue of land, according to people familiar with the matter.

Trump said he has spoken to about 70 world leaders since the election victory, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – in a call which Tesla CEO Elon Musk also joined. Ukrainian officials were informed of Trump’s call with Putin and did not object to the conversation taking place, said two people involve in the matter.

Russia, Ukraine Launch Record Drone Attacks

Despite the call, Russia and Ukraine both launched record drone attacks on each other overnight, Russia fired 145 drones at Ukraine overnight and downed 34 Ukrainian attack drones targeting Moscow on Sunday.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the White House was to spend its remaining $6 billion of funding for Ukraine before Trump takes office, warning of the risks of ending US support for Kyiv.

In his evening address, Zelensky alluded to Ukraine’s attempted barrage of Moscow, the largest attack targeting the Russian capital since the start of the conflict. Thanking his forces responsible for drone combat he said: “Russian military objects are becoming more and more accessible to our soldiers."

Meanwhile, Moscow’s defence ministry on Sunday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s east. Russian troops made their largest territorial gains in October since March 2022, according to AFP analysis of data from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russia Sees ‘Positive Signals’ On Trump’s Ukraine Stance

On Sunday, the Kremlin said it saw “positive signals" from Trump’s position on Ukraine, while warning it was hard to predict how he would behave in office. “Trump during his election talked about how he perceives everything through deals, that he can make a deal that can lead to peace," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with state media published Sunday.

While having publicly claimed to be backing Harris in the US election, the Kremlin is widely believed to have actually wanted to see Trump return to the White House, welcoming his scepticism over American aid to Ukraine and his chaotic leadership style.

According to a recent report by The Telegraph, Trump’s staffers said his plan may include calling on European and British troops to enforce an 800-mile buffer zone between the Russian and Ukrainian armies in an attempt to freeze the war. This would mean Russia would keep its territorial gains in Ukraine and Kyiv can say goodbye to its plans to join NATO for 20 years.

Furthermore, the US would not contribute troops to patrol and enforce the buffer zone. “We can do training and other support but the barrel of the gun is going to be European," a member of Trump’s team told The Wall Street Journal. “We are not sending American men and women to uphold peace in Ukraine. And we are not paying for it. Get the Poles, Germans, British and French to do it."

In exchange, the US would pump Ukraine full of weapons to deter Russia from restarting the war.  However, this is one of several plans being considered by Trump, who said he would start peace talks between Russia and Ukraine before taking office in January.
‘Priority in Ukraine Is Peace, Not Territory’

Since Trump’s win, Ukrainian officials have been anxious that he would enforce a deal that would deprive them of much-needed US aid and coerce Kyiv into agreeing to unfavourable terms. It is expected to undermine Washington’s relations with European allies and challenge the legitimacy of NATO.

A senior aide to Trump said that the new administration’s priority in Ukraine would be establishing peace and not restoring lost territory, including Crimea. Bryan Lanza, a long-time Republican party strategist, told BBC that Trump’s administration would be asking Zelenskyy for a “realistic vision for peace."

“And if President Zelenskiy comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not serious. Crimea is gone," he said. “And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you’re on your own."