Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin told German counterpart Olaf Scholz on Friday that Moscow's attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure were "inevitable" and accused the West of pursuing "destructive" policies, the Kremlin said.

"Such measures have become a forced and inevitable response to Kyiv's provocative attacks on Russia's civilian infrastructure," the Kremlin said in a statement following the telephone talks, the first between Putin and Scholz since mid-September.

"Attention was drawn to the destructive line of Western states, including Germany, that are pumping the Kyiv regime with weapons, and are training the Ukrainian military," the Kremlin added.