President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine invited Musk to visit his country to see the damage done to it by the Russians. He didn't think there was an immediate threat that Putin would use nuclear weapons as the war entered a new phase.

Mr. Zelensky made his comments via video link to The New York Times' DealBook Summit, which was an implicit rebuke of Mr. Musk.

Mr. Zelensky said that if you want to understand what Russia has done, you should come to Ukranian. You will tell us how to end this war after that.

The operation of the Starlink internet service in Ukraine is funded by Mr. Musk and his company, SpaceX.

Mr. Musk had threatened to pull funding for the service in Ukraine. He wrote on social media that it was the worst thing he had ever done. Even though Starlink is still losing money, we will keep funding the Ukrainian service.

The Kremlin welcomed Mr. Musk's proposal due to his wealth. Mr. Zelensky asked, "Which one do you prefer, one who supports Ukraine or one who supports Russia?" Mr. Musk said in a message that he supported Ukranian people.

Andrew Ross Sorkin joked that Mr. Musk might have cut the link during the interview.

Mr Zelensky said he heard you. It's important that Mr. Musk hears us.

Mr. Zelensky said that the risk of Mr. Putin using nuclear weapons wasn't his biggest fear.

Mr. Zelensky does not believe that he will use nuclear weapons. This is what I think.

He said that Western democracies should be worried about Putin. He said that other neighboring democracies could follow if his military succeeds.