President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday that Russia was ready to look at energy deals if Berlin was interested, the Kremlin said, in their first phone conversation since December 2022.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

As the war enters its 995th day, these are the main developments.

US President-elect Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his administration would focus on Russia's war against Ukraine. Source: CNN, citing Trump Quote: "We're going to work very hard on Russia and Ukraine.

And without vast new supplies of military aid and a free hand to use that aid effectively, most analysts believe Ukraine is likely to lose. Or at least be vulnerable to pressure to sign up to a peace deal that means giving up a great deal of territory as well as the freedom to make independent decisions about its security.