U.S. President Joe Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky had their first call on Friday morning, amid reports of a Russian military buildup in eastern Ukraine that has alarmed U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
The leaders spoke for 30 to 40 minutes, Politico White House correspondent Natasha Bertrand stated, adding that Biden "affirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression."
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The call will follow three high-level conversations between US and Ukrainian officials this week, between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and between US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Taran.
A person familiar with the conversation noted that Ukrainian officials had been pushing for a call between Biden and Zelensky for weeks, including in a recent call between national security adviser Jake Sullivan and top Zelensky aid Andriy Yermak.
The reported conversation comes amid the escalation on the contact line in Donbass, as its armed forced reported four Ukrainian soldiers killed and two more injured in the shelling near the village of Shumy.
Moreover, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has repeatedly mentioned the aggravation of the situation over the past two months, reporting increased use by the Ukrainian army of artillery systems and 120-mm and 82-mm mortars.
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