The call  comes two days after the US president spoke two hours with Volodymyr Putin and  warned the Russia’s leader against invading Ukraine, the White House said in a readout of the conversation.

CNN’s Jennifer Hasler was the first to break the news on Twitter,  writing ‘President Biden’s secure call with Ukrainian President Zelensky began at 1:34 PM ET, per the White House’.

Then came a brief statement  in Zelensky’s Twitter account.

‘Finished my 1.5 hours’ talk with @POTUS. The US president informed me about his talks with Volodymyr Putin. [We] also discussed possible formats of resolution of the conflict in Donbas. Touched on ongoing domestic reforms in Ukraine’

In an interview for ‘1+1’ TV channel soon after the talks wrapped up,  Zelensky’s top aide Andriy Yermak revealed some more details.

In a call that lasted for some 1,5 hours, the US president confirmed he warned Putin against invasion in Ukraine threatening to slap ‘shattering’ sanctions.

Biden assured the Ukrainian president he struck no deals with Moscow and promised new military aid, said Yermak, noting the US president offered no clear forecast on when Ukraine could join NATO, yet stressed Russia can’t decide for Ukraine about such a move as it is all down to Ukraine and its Alliance partners.

The US pesident also promised Washington will play an active role in diplomatic efforts for peaceful resolution in Donbas with new formats now being considered to ramp up such process. The sides, according to Yermak, agreed that ‘no decisions can be made for Ukraine without Ukraine’.

 

The call was between Biden and Zelensky was announced by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Tuesday.

According to Sullivan, the two presidents were set to discuss a potential diplomatic resolution to the ongoing standoff in Donbas.