American billionaire Elon Musk suddenly took part in a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, thereby cementing his role as the most influential civilian in the US, Axios reports.
Musk was with Trump during the call for about 25 minutes, according to a report by Axios, which first reported the call. Trump handed the phone to Musk, who spoke briefly with Zelensky. In the conversation, Zelensky thanked Mask for the satellites he provided to Ukraine through his company Starlink, reports AFP. Musk said he would continue to provide satellite internet, the report said.
Musk, who actively supported Trump during his campaign for the US presidential election, has a "hot-cold" attitude towards the issue of the war in Ukraine. The billionaire initially provided Ukraine with Internet via Starlink satellites for free, with the help of funding from several other entities, including the US government.
Zelensky's conversation with Trump, according to media reports, was encouraging for the Ukrainian president. Trump told Zelensky that he would continue to support Ukraine, although he did not go into details, reports AKsios. In his public statement, Zelenski praised Trump and his team for the successful campaign.
"We agreed to maintain a close dialogue and improve our cooperation. The strong and unwavering leadership of the USA is crucial for the world and for a just peace," said the Ukrainian president.
Musk's statements and actions have sometimes been ambiguous regarding support for Ukraine. According to a biography written by Walter Isakson, Musk later refused to activate the satellites over Crimea in response to Ukraine's urgent request, stating that doing so would make SpaceX, Starlink's parent company, "complicit in a grand act of war and escalation of conflict."
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Musk also tweeted what he presented as a plan for peace, but which experts described as pro-Russian views. Zelensky responded by posting a poll on the X social network, asking his followers which Musk they liked better, the one who supports Russia or Ukraine.
Recently, the Wall Street Journal reported that Musk has been in regular contact with Vladimir Putin since 2022. It's unclear what they discussed, but Starlink was the topic in at least one instance, according to the Journal, with Putin asking Musk not to activate Starlink over Taiwan as a favor to Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Musk responded to the story by writing on X: "Well, since 'Trump is Hitler' didn't work, maybe 'Ilon is a Russian agent' will."
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