Putin congratulates Trump on election win and says Russia ready for dialogue | First Thing

Russian leader expresses admiration for Trump as race for control of the House intensifies. Plus, why a movement calling for celibacy among straight women is going viral after Trump's win

Good morning.

Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on his election victory and said Moscow was ready for dialogue, in a development that will deeply concern Kyiv and dial up unease across Europe.

What has Trump said on Ukraine? He has claimed, with little substantiation, that he could bring peace to Ukraine within 24 hours" - leading to fears within Nato that his plan may just be to order Ukraine to surrender.

Where are we up to in the House? The Democrats have 199 seats, while the Republicans are ahead at 211. There are still 25 races to call at the time of writing - but either side only needs 218 for a majority.