Elon Musk took part in Trump-Zelensky call, Ukrainian official says

Elon Musk (c.) took part in a phone call between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (l.) and US President-elect Donald Trump (r.) after his election victory, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP Friday.  © JEFF KOWALSKY, Alain JOCARD, Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP

"I confirm it," the presidency official who asked to remain anonymous told AFP, saying that the claim in a report by US news site Axios about the call on Wednesday was accurate.

Musk, the world's richest man, played a major role in the Republican's campaign, spending over $110 million of his personal fortune to help get him elected. Trump has said he aims to include Musk in some form of advisory role in his upcoming government.

His presence during an official call underlines his close ties to the next US president.

Another high-ranking Ukrainian source told AFP that Musk was physically present with Trump during the call.

Musk "wasn't on the line, Trump gave him the phone. They were there together somewhere," the source said.

Zelensky "thanked him [Musk] for the Starlinks, they talked briefly," the source said, referring to the satellite internet devices used by Ukrainian troops as they fight off a Russian invasion.

"But the main conversation was of course with Trump," the source added, while saying he and Zelensky "didn't really discuss anything substantial, it was just a greeting conversation."

Zelensky earlier said that he and Trump shared an "excellent" call, where he congratulated the Republican on his "tremendous victory" and they agreed to "maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation."

He did not mention speaking to Musk.