Adrian Edwards/GC Images, AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
- Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Semafor reported.
- The separate phone calls reportedly happened weeks before Fox News host Tucker Carlson was fired.
- There is no clear link between the Murdochs' calls with Zelenskyy and Carlson's firing from Fox News.
Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch had separate phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy weeks before Tucker Carlson, who has been critical of Ukraine and Zelenskyy, was fired from Fox News, Semafor reported.
There is no clear link between the phone calls and Carlson's firing from Fox News, according to Semafor.
Despite the fact that senior Ukrainian officials have expressed their opposition to Carlson's coverage of the war in Ukraine to Fox News executives in the past, one person familiar with the calls told Semafor that Zelenskyy did not mention Carlson's coverage in his conversations with the Murdochs.
Both Rupert and Lachlan reportedly talked with Zelenskyy about the war in Ukraine and the deaths of two Fox News journalists in Ukraine last March, according to Semafor.
A representative for Carlson did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Representatives for Zelenskyy also did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Since Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February, Carlson has been critical of US support for Ukraine and become a proponent of Ukraine's surrender of its Russian-occupied territories to Russia.
On an episode of "Tucker Carlson Tonight" last month, Carlson argued that "leaked intelligence" showed "Ukraine is in fact losing the war" and claimed "seven Ukrainians are being killed for every Russian."
The leaked documents he cited actually suggest Russian troops have seen over twice as many casualties as Ukrainian troops.
The Washington Post reported that during a Fox newsroom meeting, Rupert Murdoch"loudly" challenged Carlson about one of his segments on the Ukraine war.
After Carlson was ousted from Fox News last week, Russian TV presenter and propagandist Vladimir Solovyov wrote on Telegram that he sent Carlson an email encouraging the former host to run for president and offering him a job as a presenter and host in Russia.
Fox News' reason for firing Carlson has not been confirmed, but there are several theories as to why the network decided to part ways with the host, including Dominion's lawsuit against the company for defamation, a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former booker on his show, and Carlson's use of vulgar language.