Biden, Zelenskyy hold phone call about “recent events in Russia,” White House says

President Biden held a phone call Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the United States’ continued support for Ukraine, the White House said in a statement. 

A White House readout of the call said Mr. Biden and Zelenskyy “discussed Ukraine’s ongoing counter-offensive, and President Biden reaffirmed unwavering U.S. support, including through continued security, economic, and humanitarian aid.”

The two leaders also discussed “recent events” in Russia, the readout said without elaborating. 

The conversation came after Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, had ordered his troops to march toward Moscow and threatened to overthrow Russia’s military leadership. The would-be revolt ended when Prigozhin accepted a deal to stop the march and take his troops to Belarus, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. As part of the deal, Wagner troops will not be prosecuted and a criminal case against Prigozhin would be dropped, Peskov said.

Zelenskyy on Twitter called his conversation with Biden “positive and inspiring.”

“We discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia. The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored,” Zelenskyy said. 

Zelenskyy on Sunday also spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Polish President Andrzej Duda, he said.