Monday, October 2, 2023
Ukraine war: Elon Musk mocks Zelensky and receives heavy criticism
Watson
Ukraine war: Elon Musk mocks Zelensky and receives heavy criticism
Article by Anne-Kathrin Hamilton •
7 hours
Elon Musk continues to cause a stir with his opinion on the war of aggression in Ukraine, which violates international law.
The richest man in the world doesn't hold back his opinion. Elon Musk says what he thinks - preferably via his platform X, formerly Twitter. At the moment he is particularly focused on two topics: migration and Ukraine.
He took issue with the German government in a post around the weekend. It's about migration policy in Europe and how Germany is tackling it. But he is also sticking his nose into the war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law.
He is apparently said to have influenced this directly - with the help of his satellite network "Starlink". In this way, the multiple billionaire probably prevented Ukrainian attacks on the Russians. He repeatedly causes confusion with his controversial statements about Ukraine.
Now on X he mocks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj with a meme.
Elon Musk makes fun of Zelensky
"If it took five minutes and you haven't asked for a billion dollars of help yet," says the meme, which shows a visibly tense Zelenskyj.
For the British journalist Euan McDonald, who has been reporting from Ukraine for many years, it is now clear: Musk is against democratic Ukraine and for fascist Russia, "since he is now using his own account to post Kremlin propaganda." he writes on X to the meme.
"While Elon posts terrible memes about Ukrainian President Zelensky out of boredom," political scientist and geopolitical strategist Velina Tchakarova wants to remind, "this is also the person who turned down the US offer to evacuate on the first day of Russia's major attack.
In doing so, Zelensky gave his people an enormous morale boost to defend themselves against Russia. She continues on X:
"While you laugh at Elon's meme about Zelensky without understanding the context, remember that Ukraine decimated the Russian army from the second strongest in the world to the second strongest in Ukraine."
In general, Musk's meme annoys many users. It's tasteless, says one user. "Imagine sinking so low as to make fun of a country that is suffering from a crime of aggression," he says.
Criticism of Musk: Apparently a tasteless meme for many users
"If you don't want to support Ukraine, that's your decision. But why so harsh and styleless?" political scientist Luke Coffey wants to know from Musk. He is a fellow at the Hudson Institute.
The post is like a slap in the face, especially for Ukrainians.
“So not only do we have to face genocide alone, but we are also humiliated because we ask for help,” writes the Ukrainian Roman Yeremenko on X.
Experts such as US historian Timothy Snyder now share his opinion that Russia is committing genocide in Ukraine.
"And while Elon and his fanboys are having fun and making memes about 'Ukrainian beggars,' we have to take shelter at four in the morning because of missile alarms," Yeremenko added.
By making fun of a country that is currently fighting for survival, Musk is making himself a target for criticism on his own platform. So the meme comes at a difficult time, when financial support could be lost from Slovakia, for example, with the newly elected government.
The ongoing dispute over the US budget is also at Ukraine's expense. The Senate had to agree on an interim budget to prevent a so-called shutdown. However, this 45-day bridging budget does not contain any aid for Ukraine, which is being attacked by Russia.