Trump Put Musk on Phone With Zelenskyy During Call

President-elect Donald Trump spoke Wednesday with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and during the call handed the phone to Elon Musk, the increasingly influential billionaire who has played a key role providing communications capability to Ukraine in its war with Russia, a person familiar with the discussion said.

It is not clear whether the three men touched on any change in U.S. policy toward Ukraine in the wake of Trump’s election. Musk was with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida, and the tone of the call was described as positive, according to the person familiar with the discussion.

A second person briefed on the call also confirmed Musk’s participation, which was reported earlier by Axios.

A third person briefed on the call described it as a “good talk,” saying that Zelenskyy had called Trump to congratulate him and that when Trump handed Musk the phone, Zelenskyy thanked him for the communication assistance.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately provide a comment on the call.

Trump has promised to bring a quick end to the conflict, a position widely seen as allowing Russia to hold on to the territory it has seized since invading Ukraine in 2022. During a presidential debate, Trump declined to say which side he wanted to see win the war, and he has suggested that Zelenskyy has gotten too much military and financial aid from the Biden administration.

Musk, who has become close to Trump in recent months and who provided him with financial and logistical support in the presidential campaign as well as with full-throated backing on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has been a vital supplier to the Ukrainian war effort through his Starlink satellite communications network.

Musk is a major U.S. government contractor, especially to the Pentagon, which relies heavily on SpaceX for launch capacity. He has already sought to have some of his employees placed in government jobs when Trump takes office, and Trump has said he wants Musk in a role recommending ways to slash government spending.

After Trump was declared the winner of the presidential race early Wednesday, Zelenskyy urged Trump to help strengthen Ukraine against Russian aggression.

“For us in Ukraine, and all across Europe, it has always been crucial to hear the words of the then 45th President of the United States about ‘peace through strength,’” Zelenskyy wrote on social media. “When this principle becomes the policy of the 47th President, both America and the entire world will undoubtedly benefit.”

Zelenskyy added, “It’s no coincidence that Ronald Reagan is mentioned so often these days — people want confidence, they want freedom, they want a normal life. For us, that means a life free from Russian aggression, with a strong America, a strong Ukraine, and strong allies.”

The conversation with Zelenskyy was one of dozens of calls with foreign leaders the president-elect held in the last few days.

Trump also spoke with Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, apparently on the same day as the call with Zelenskyy. Erdogan told reporters that during their conversation, Trump was having dinner with Musk.

Although it appeared to be the first time that Musk had joined a phone call between Trump and Zelenskyy, he has talked to the Ukrainian leader on at least two occasions during the war, according to Iuliia Mendel, a former spokesperson for Zelenskyy.

Mendel, who worked for the Ukrainian presidential administration before Russia invaded nearly three years ago, said she had helped organize two calls between Musk and Zelenskyy in March 2022, roughly two weeks into the Russian invasion.

Mendel said an acquaintance of Musk’s had reached out to her in early March, asking her to help set up the call. For his part, she added, the Ukrainian leader was interested in Musk’s help in opening negotiations with the Kremlin. In particular, she said, Zelenskyy asked during one of the calls for Musk’s assistance in securing an agreement with Moscow to open a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians stranded in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

It is unknown if Musk talked to the Kremlin following his two calls with Zelenskyy.