Another highly placed Ukrainian source assured that Donald Trump had “passed the phone” to Elon Musk, physically present at his side, who then “briefly” spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky. “Trump gave him the phone, they were together somewhere. The (Ukrainian) president thanked him for Starlink (the satellite link service that Elon Musk provided to Ukraine, Editor's note),” said this source.
“They spoke briefly. But the main conversation was of course with Trump,” she added.
“Close dialogue”
Still according to this source, Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky “did not really discuss anything substantial, it was a conversation to greet each other”. The Ukrainian president described this telephone exchange as “excellent” and had “agreed to maintain a close dialogue” with Donald Trump.
Two anonymous sources told the American media Axios that President Zelensky had been reassured by this discussion with Donald Trump, which lasted around twenty minutes. During this call, Elon Musk also declared, according to Axios, that he would continue to support kyiv with its Starlink satellite link service.
Asked by AFP on Friday, before kyiv's confirmation of this telephone exchange, Donald Trump's team refused to confirm the Tesla boss's participation in it, saying they did not want to comment on “private conversations”.
Fears of kyiv
The presence of Elon Musk illustrates his close ties with the winner of the American presidential election. This businessman played an unprecedented role in Donald Trump's campaign, spending more than $110 million to get him elected. He also organized a series of campaign meetings in favor of the Republican candidacy, in the hotly contested state of Pennsylvania.
Elon Musk is expected to join Donald Trump's future government but the precise contours of his role have not been revealed.
Very critical of the billions of dollars released for Ukraine, the president-elect promised to end this war even before taking the oath – without ever explaining how. kyiv fears that Donald Trump will reduce or even interrupt the vital military and economic support provided by the United States to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
