Trump has signaled privately that he would support a deal where Russia kept some captured territory, and during the call he briefly raised the issue, people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump spoke on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and discussed the war in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine and reminded him of "Washington's sizeable military presence in Europe", the Post reported.