After US President Donald Trump claimed that Russia and Ukraine were “very close to a deal,” his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, asserted it was time to end the war. “Time to end the slaughter,” Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), posted on X.
Time to end the slaughter pic.twitter.com/ndrMIMxfm3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2025
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO’s comment was in response to a Trump post on Truth Social where the US President said that he arrived in Rome late Friday to attend Pope Francis’ funeral.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said it was a “good day in talks”, adding the two sides were “very close to a deal”. He even suggested Russia and Ukraine meet at a very high level to “finish it off”.
Calling it a “cruel and senseless war,” Trump said they have agreed to “most of the major points.” “Stop the bloodshed, NOW,” he wrote, and added the US would be there wherever it was necessary to help facilitate the end to this war, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The post came after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s three-hour-long meeting with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow on Friday. In the meeting, the two talked about the US plan to put an end to the years-long war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
There have been no direct talks between the two warring sides since the early weeks of the ongoing war. During the Friday meeting in Moscow, Putin discussed the “possibility” of direct talks with the opposite side, the Kremlin said.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Putin had a “constructive” discussion with Witkoff, adding the meeting even included a discussion over the possibility of renewing direct negotiations.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected suggestions that Crimea be considered a part of Russian territory. Earlier this week, he asserted Ukraine was not going to “recognise Russia’s annexation of Crimea” and rejected the proposal.
Noting it was against the Constitution of Ukraine, Zelensky said there was “nothing to talk about here”.
