Russian state television praised Elon Musk as a “Muscovite” and suggested he “really is our agent” after the billionaire posted a meme ridiculing Volodymr Zelensky.
The meme, posted on Musk’s social media site
The photoshopped image, mocking Zelensky’s pleas for wartime aid while the future of US aid to Kiev hangs in the balance, is likely to intensify Musk’s dispute with Ukraine.
However, the move won praise from Russia, with state television presenter Olga Skabeyeva describing the tech mogul as “Elon the Muscovite” on Russia-1 on Monday.
“Elon Musk is magnificent, he is wonderful and maybe he really is our agent,” he said while speaking of war “fatigue” in the United States following the passage of a bill by the US Congress to prevent a shutdown that omitted aid to Ukraine.
Elon Musk escalated his feud with Ukraine with a tweet (pictured) mocking the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, for his requests for wartime aid.
Russian state television presenter Olga Skabeyeva (pictured) describes the tech mogul as “Elon the Muscovite” on Russia-1 on Monday.
“Until recently it was impossible to imagine something like this,” he said.
“Unless something changes in the next 45 days, the United States will certainly stop helping” Kiev, Skabeyeva added, describing Ukraine as “a walking corpse.”
‘Elon Musk is magnificent, he is wonderful. Maybe Elon Musk really is our agent,” Skabeyeva told her audience.
Musk, owner of Space
Ukrainian officials criticized Musk early in the war for suggesting they should consider giving up land in exchange for peace, a position kyiv has firmly rejected.
On its official page on “Russian propaganda.” ‘.
Mariana Betsa, Ukraine’s ambassador to Estonia, accused Musk of lacking empathy, pointing to the thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian invasion of their home country.
‘Elon, don’t you have empathy? Russia kills Ukrainians every day. “We are fighting for our lives, for our families, for our country, for our freedom #StandWithUkraine,” he wrote on X.
Zelensky visited the United States in September and met with senior officials in Washington in a bid to secure more aid. In the photo: Zelensky and Biden in the Oval Office, September 21.
Musk also owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communications services that are vital to Ukraine’s defense effort.
kyiv was quick to respond to the billionaire and posted its own mocking response. On its official page on
Roman Sheremeta, a Ukrainian academic, wrote that he admired Tesla’s CEO, “but he became a mouthpiece for Russian propaganda and a simply indecent human being.”
The meme wasn’t the only time Musk commented on Ukraine over the weekend.
Commenting on the US funding situation on Friday, Musk wrote on
Zelensky visited the United States in September and met with senior officials in Washington in a bid to secure more help as kyiv presses forward with its counteroffensive.
However, over the weekend, aid to Ukraine was omitted from a stopgap funding measure passed by the US Congress to avoid a US government shutdown.
The United States has been the largest single donor to Ukraine since Russia’s full invasion last year, giving tens of billions of dollars in military and financial aid.
But the removal of $6 billion in funding from the bill will be a cause for concern for Ukraine and its allies, amid fears that cracks are appearing in the West over its support for Kiev.
Ukraine is already nervously looking at the possibility of returning to the White House former Republican President Donald Trump, who previously praised Putin.
President Joe Biden has sought to assure kyiv that it will get the funding it needs.
