Olaf Scholz and Vladimir Putin held a phone call on Friday to discuss ways to end the war in Ukraine, the first such conversation in two years.

According to Scholz’s own account, he called on the Russian president to withdraw his troops and “urged Russia to be willing to negotiate with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace.”

Tusk took to the X social media platform to comment on the matter.

He wrote: “No-one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night, one of the biggest in this war, has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine. The next weeks will be decisive, not only for the war itself, but also for our future.”

No-one will stop Putin with phone calls. The attack last night, one of the biggest in this war, has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West for Ukraine. The next weeks will be decisive, not only for the war itself, but also for our future.

— Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) November 17, 2024

Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine deploying ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported early on Sunday that Russia fired a total of 120 missiles and 90 drones at Ukraine targeting energy infrastructure across the country.

The German chancellor’s move has also met with criticism at home. According to Jürgen Hardt, a leading politician of the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Putin will perceive the fact that Scholz called him “as a sign of weakness rather than strength.”