US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he was speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he reviewed Ukraine's long-range missile effort.
"I'm talking to President Putin now," Trump wrote on his Truth Social website shortly after a White House official confirmed the call to the Associated Press and Reuters.
"The conversation is ongoing, it is long, and I will report the content, as will President Putin, at its conclusion. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
The call comes ahead of Trump's meeting Friday at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has pressured Trump to sell Kiev Tomahawk missiles that would allow Ukrainian forces to strike deeper into Russian territory.
Zelensky has argued that such attacks would force Putin to take Trump's calls for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine to end the war more seriously.