American billionaire Elon Musk has sharply criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying that Zelensky is "despised" by the Ukrainian people, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
A close advisor to US President Donald Trump believes that Trump was right not to include Zelensky in negotiations with Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. "Zelensky knows that he will lose by a wide margin, even though he has taken control of all Ukrainian media. That's why he canceled the elections. In reality, he is despised by the Ukrainian people," Musk wrote on his social network "Ex".
Musk's words come against the backdrop of tense relations between Washington and Kiev. “Kiev's rhetoric and the insults directed at President Trump are unacceptable”, said Mike Walz, Trump's national security adviser.
“President Trump is clearly very disappointed with President Zelensky, with the fact that he did not come to the negotiating table, that he did not want to take advantage of the opportunity that we offered him,”, added Walz at a press conference at the White House yesterday.
Later, in a more restrained tone, Elon Musk told a roundtable in Washington organized by conservatives that Donald Trump was “very pragmatic” regarding the war in Ukraine. “The president is very sympathetic”, Musk added.
A few days ago, Trump claimed without evidence that Volodymyr Zelensky had only 4% support in Ukraine. According to a telephone survey conducted this month by the Kiev International Sociological Institute (KIIS), which is recognized as independent, 57% of Ukrainians surveyed said they had “full or partial trust“ in the Ukrainian president, AFP notes.
Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Trump by saying that the US president lives in Russia's “disinformation space“. Trump again attacked Zelensky, calling him a dictator for not calling presidential elections in Ukraine.
Mike Walz called the positions of the Ukrainian leadership towards Trump “unacceptable”, emphasizing that the US has done a lot for Ukraine. Against this hostile backdrop, Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday after a meeting with Trump's envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, that he wanted stable relations between his country and the United States.
In early February, Donald Trump announced that he wanted to negotiate an agreement with Ukraine to gain access to 50% of its strategic minerals in exchange for the American aid already provided.
Mike Walz asked Kiev to accept the agreement, which he described as a “historic opportunity“. The offer was rejected by Zelensky, who insisted that Ukraine “is not for sale“. Next week, French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister will visit Washington for meetings with Trump. “It is time for our European allies to act,“ said Mike Walz.