German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what appeared to be the first conversation with the sitting leader of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Donald Trump's entrance into the White House on Jan. 20 promises to offer a seismic shift in the U.S.'s approach to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a potential "freezing" of the war. Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war within "24 hours,