Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has an “amazing” sense of humor if he thinks that his country cannot be forced to the negotiating table by the US, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, a close confidant of president-elect Donald Trump, has said.
Speaking to Ukrainian radio on Saturday, Zelensky was asked whether he has been pressured by Trump to agree to peace talks with Russia.
“We are an independent Ukraine,” Zelensky responded, adding that he “personally, in negotiations with the United States, and with Trump, [US President Joe] Biden, and other European leaders,” has demonstrated that he cannot be told to “sit and listen.”
Musk shared a clip of the interview on X, writing above: “[his] sense of humor is amazing.” The billionaire’s post also linked to a BBC article detailing Zelensky’s pre-politics career as a comedian.
While SpaceX has provided the Ukrainian military with Starlink internet terminals, Musk has long argued that Kiev cannot hope to defeat Russian forces on the battlefield, and that the conflict must end in a negotiated settlement. Musk endorsed Donald Trump – who has vowed to bring a swift end to the fighting – earlier this summer, and following Trump’s defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris last week, has become one of the president-elect’s closest advisers.
Musk reportedly joined Trump on a phone call to Zelensky last week, speaking directly to the Ukrainian leader at one point, according to reports in the US media. Musk has not acknowledged taking part in the call, but wrote on X shortly afterwards that “the senseless killing will end soon. Time is up for the warmonger profiteers.”
The Ukrainian government has relied on foreign aid since 2022 to keep agencies open and employees paid, and the country’s military is almost entirely dependent on foreign funding. The US has allocated $182.99 billion for Ukraine since Russia’s military operation began in 2022, according to Pentagon figures, of which $86.7 billion has been disbursed.
European nations, including the UK, have given around $127 billion to Ukraine over the same period, according to data from Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
European nations, including the UK, have given around $127 billion to Ukraine over the same period, according to data from Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
Given Ukraine’s near total dependence on the West, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last year that any peace talks are unlikely to be held “with Zelensky, who is a puppet in the hands of the West, but directly with his masters” in Washington and Brussels.
Earlier this week, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said that the US State Department considers Zelensky to be “overly entitled,” and may organize elections in Ukraine next year as a “legitimate” means of removing him from power. “The fate of this country and its puppet leaders will continue to be decided in high offices in Washington,” the agency added.