The call between Trump and Putin comes just one day after Washington indirectly aided Putin’s war effort against Ukraine by suspending some shipments of air defense missiles, artillery shells and other weapons as part of what Pentagon officials have described as a pause of arms shipments globally while the U.S. replenishes its own stockpiles.

Donald Trump had a call with both President Zelensky and President Vladimir Putin to initiate discussions aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

The Russian leader is convinced that Moscow’s battlefield superiority is growing, and that Ukraine’s defenses may collapse in the coming months, according to people close to the Kremlin.