Then, in response to Trump’s claim that during their phone call, he asked—in some accounts, warned —Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine, a Kremlin spokesman denied that the two had spoken on the phone at all. (Putin issued his belated congratulations at a news conference.)

The Kremlin has dismissed reports suggesting a recent phone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump regarding the Ukraine conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov labeled these claims as "pure fiction,

Trump has appointed Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary. On a podcast last week, Hegseth said he didn't want US intervention forcing Putin's hand.