Olaf Scholz’s call with Vladimir Putin has been criticised after Russia launched one of the largest missile attacks of the war against Ukraine overnight. Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said the barrage proved “no-one will stop Putin with phone calls” and that “telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday for the first time in nearly two years, breaking Western isolation over Ukraine. The German leader is gearing up for a snap election and Europe girding to hear Donald Trump’s plan for ending the war in Ukraine.