Elon Musk accused Kyiv of being a “massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers” and claimed Volodymyr Zelensky was “despised” by his people as the rift between the US and Ukraine deepened.
The tech billionaire and close Trump adviser echoed the Donald Trump’s call for elections in Ukraine, and said the US President was right to “ignore” President Zelensky in peace talks with Moscow.
Musk wrote on X, his social media platform: “If Zelensky was actually loved by the people of Ukraine, he would hold an election. He knows he would lose in a landslide. So he cancelled the election.”
“In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election,” Musk said. “I challenge Zelensky to hold an election and refute this. He will not. President Trump is right to ignore him and solve for peace independent of the disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.”
Tensions between the US and Ukraine over ending the conflict with Russia have continued to grow, despite the Foreign Secretary saying that the Kremlin has no “appetite” for peace.
After US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded barbs earlier in the week, White House officials on Thursday accused Mr Zelensky of “insulting” his American counterpart, and a planned joint press conference in Kyiv was cancelled at the request of the US.
Mr Zelensky had been scheduled to answer questions alongside retired US general Keith Kellogg, Mr Trump’s Ukraine envoy, after talks between the two men.
But Mr Zelensky’s spokesman said that, while the talks had taken place, the press conference had been pulled.
Meanwhile, US national security adviser Mike Waltz said Mr Trump’s criticism of Mr Zelensky reflected frustrations with what Washington viewed as roadblocks erected by Kyiv to finding a solution to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the rejection of an offer that would have given the US control over Ukrainian minerals in exchange for security guarantees.
He said: “There’s some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were unacceptable.”
The deepening feud between the two countries, after Mr Trump described Mr Zelensky as a “dictator”, comes in the week that US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia for initial talks on ending the conflict, without any Ukrainian representation.
But speaking after a G20 foreign ministers meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday, Foreign Secretary David Lammy cast doubt on Moscow’s willingness to negotiate seriously.
He said: “We’ve not got anywhere near a negotiated settlement, and I have to say when I listened to what the Russians and what (Russian foreign minister Sergei) Lavrov has just said in the chamber this afternoon, I don’t see an appetite to really get to that peace.”
Both Mr Lammy and Mr Lavrov gave speeches in a behind-closed-doors session in Johannesburg. The text of Mr Lavrov’s speech has not been released and it is understood the Russian foreign minister boycotted Mr Lammy’s speech.
According to a copy of Mr Lammy’s remarks posted on the Foreign Office’s website, he accused his Russian counterpart of advancing “tired fabrications” and urged Moscow to abandon “tsarist imperialism”.
The meeting of G20 foreign ministers is to continue on Friday, and Mr Lammy is expected to also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.
The worsening relations between Kyiv and Moscow will provide a tricky background for Sir Keir Starmer as he heads to Washington next week for talks with Mr Trump.
The Prime Minister has sought to underline his support for Mr Zelensky, backing him in a phone call on Wednesday after Mr Trump’s “dictator” comments and saying that Ukraine must be involved in any negotiations.
But he has also spoken of the need for a US security “backstop” to any peace agreement, in order to deter further Russian aggression, and is likely to discuss the proposal with Mr Trump as well as plans for increasing Europe’s contribution to its own defence.
Former head of the British armed forces Retired General Sir Nick Carter told the BBC the UK may need to offer security guarantees to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal is brokered with Russia, regardless of US support.
Sir Nick said he believed it was up to Ukraine to decide what a “fair settlement” means.
He added that the UK and countries from Europe need to “step up to the plate” to guarantee the sovereignty of Ukraine “if the Americans are not prepared to do that”.
Argentina's President Javier Milei gifted Elon Musk a chainsaw during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC on Thursday.
Waving the chainsaw above his head on stage, Musk - who has been tasked by Trump with finding efficiency savings across US Government- told attendees it was the “chainsaw for bureaucracy”.
The chainsaw was engraved with "Viva la libertad, carajo," Spanish for "Long live liberty, damn it."
Milei famously wielded the power tool during his successful 2023 run for Argentina's presidency - a symbol of the deep cuts he has made to the country's state spending.
