National Security Adviser Mike Waltz spoke with reporters at the White House North Lawn Wednesday, claiming Ukrainian aid did not come up during the president's call with Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Waltz's statement contradicts what the Russians are saying and when asked if he believes the Russians are lying, Waltz did not answer.

Waltz was asked for his opinion on the call and if he believed Putin was an honest broker. He said that Putin is a "tough character."

"It's not a matter of whether you necessarily believe. This is trust, but verify," he said.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

President Donald Trump will speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at 10 a.m. EST, sources familiar with the call told ABC News.

The two leaders' phone conversation will be the first time since their verbal blowup in the Oval Office on Feb. 28.

-ABC News' Kelsey Walsh

President Donald Trump on Wednesday will meet with oil industry executives at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the administration's energy agenda, the industry trade association and sources told ABC News.

"President Trump's energy agenda has set our nation on a path toward energy dominance. We appreciate the opportunity to discuss how American oil and natural gas are driving economic growth, strengthening our national security and supporting consumers with the President and his team," a spokesperson for the American Petroleum Institute, Bethany Williams, told ABC in a statement.

The meeting is not expected to focus on any single energy issue, but a range of topics.

Trump has appointed industry allies to key roles in his administration and has signed an executive order to "unleash" American energy. He has declared a national energy emergency to tee up more drilling and development of energy infrastructure.

-ABC News' Benjamin Siegel and Katherine Faulders

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy threatened to withhold federal funding from New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority if the agency refused to provide information about its efforts to promote safety and inhibit crime on the city's network of subways and busses.

In the letter dated Tuesday, Duffy said that the state-run MTA must provide details on a litany of issues related to public safety, including how the system is addressing or plans to address assaults on transit workers, fare evasion, fatalities and suicides, injuries and "subway surfing."

"I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter to avoid further consequences, up to and including redirecting or withholding funding," Duffy said.

Duffy's letter, addressed to MTA Chief Janno Lieber, also requested information on the MTA's budget, specifically regarding expenditures to combat crime and improve safety. The letter requests a response by March 31.

“The trend of violent crime, homelessness, and other threats to public safety on one of our nation’s most prominent metro systems is unacceptable. After years of soft-on-crime policies, our Department is stepping in to restore order,” Duffy said in a statement.

The demand for information on the city's transit system comes amid the ongoing legal battle between the federal government and MTA over the city's congestion pricing toll, a program President Donald Trump and Duffy moved to kill last month.

The Department of Transportation gave the state a deadline of Friday, March 21, to roll the program back -- a demand NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and Lieber rebuffed, suing the administration.

“Within minutes of receiving that letter, our MTA filed a lawsuit,” Hochul said at the time. “And let me be clear -- the cameras are staying on. The tolls are staying on.”

“We don’t back down, not now, not ever,” she said.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr