KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to American President-elect Donald Trump earlier this week after the U.S. election results came in.
In a surprising development, they were joined on the line by tech billionaire Elon Musk, signaling the tycoon’s potential foreign policy influence in a new Trump administration.
“Yes, at some point Trump passed the phone to Musk. No, nothing unusual, they had a normal conversation,” a Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy told POLITICO. “President [Zelenskyy] just thanked Musk for Starlinks,” he added, referring to Musk’s satellite internet system.
Musk’s involvement in the conversation, which took place as Russia maintains its all-out assault on Ukraine, was first reported by Axios on Friday.
While a recent Wall Street Journal report stated that Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has publicly opposed aid to Ukraine while spreading pro-Kremlin narratives about Ukraine on X, Starlink terminals have been vital for the communication of Ukraine’s army and its civilian population during blackouts caused by Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure.