German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that Russia's brutal attacks on Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin may be related, reports Tagesschau, citing German government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius.

The call marked the sixth publicly acknowledged conversation between the two leaders since Trump returned to office earlier this year.

US President Donald Trump on Friday expressed his ‘disappointment’ with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after their phone call over the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.Trump said that it does not appear that Putin is looking to stop Russia's war against Ukraine,