Trump Puts Musk on Phone With Zelensky

Ukrainian officials expect that to happen again
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2024 2:31 PM CST
Trump Includes Elon Musk on Call With Zelensky
Donald Trump claps as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk prepares to leave a campaign event on Oct. 5 in Butler, Pa.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have lots to talk about. During his campaign, Trump said he'd end Ukraine's war with Russia within 24 hours while declining to say which side he wants to win. They began Wednesday with a 25-minute phone conversation, Axios reports. At one point, when Zelensky mentioned that Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet service was a big help to his country's war effort, Trump said the billionaire happened to be with him at Mar-a-Lago. Musk then joined the call.

Describing the conversation as "very pleasant," a Ukrainian official said Zelensky thanked Musk for the Starlink terminals, per the Washington Post. The system provides secure communication among Ukraine's front-line troops and enables command centers to monitor the situation on battlefields in places lacking reliable internet access. Musk and Zelensky have criticized each other in the past: Musk mocked Ukraine's requests for US aid as incessant, per Politico, and Zelensky didn't receive the mogul's unsolicited peace proposal well, per the New York Times. Ukrainian aides were left with the impression Wednesday that Musk would be a part of future conversations between the two presidents. (More Elon Musk stories.)

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