President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the German chancellor's phone call with Russia's leader on Friday opened a "Pandora's box" that undermined efforts to isolate Vladimir Putin and end the war in Ukraine with a "fair peace".

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major Western power in nearly two years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed outrage at Friday's rare telephone call between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying such talks always "lead to nowhere.