Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for the first time in nearly two years as the German leader gears up for a snap election and Europe waits to hear Donald Trump's plan for ending the war in Ukraine.

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years.

The German chancellor spoke to the Russian president over the phone on Friday. This call follows another between Trump and Putin, and although it stems from domestic political concerns, it has upset Kyiv.