Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s refusal to provide long-range missiles comes after the White House reportedly allowed Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes inside Russia.

Germany's government says that Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the first such conversation in two years.

The wildly unpopular chancellor's much-criticized decision to phone the Kremlin comes three months before he faces stiff challenges from the populist left and right.