Elon Musk says Putin can’t lose in Ukraine, opposes Senate bill for more aid

Musk has expressed similar sentiment before on X, doubting Ukraine’s ability to win and mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for aid

Musk said there was pressure on Putin to see the fight through, as ‘he would be assassinated’ if he ‘backed off’

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Elon Musk speaks at the European Jewish Association’s conference in Krakow, Poland. Photo: AP

Published: 7:15pm, 13 Feb 2024

Elon Musk told US Republican senators “there is no way in hell” that Russian President Vladimir Putin could lose the war in Ukraine, weighing in on a conflict that has been affected by Musk’s own Starlink satellite services.

Musk, the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla, made the comments in a forum on Monday on X Spaces, part of his X social media platform. The discussions included opponents of a Senate bill that would provide further help for Ukraine to continue battling the full-scale Russian invasion that began two years ago.

He was joined by Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, JD Vance of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah, as well as Vivek Ramaswamy, a former Republican presidential candidate, and David Sacks, a co-founder of Craft Ventures.

Musk’s comments came as he agreed with Johnson’s statement that Putin would not lose in Ukraine. Johnson said those who expect a Ukraine victory were “living in a fantasy world”.

“We gotta kill this thing,” Vance said of the US$95 billion measure, which includes US$60 billion in help for Ukraine as well as funding for Israel, Taiwan, and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

Musk added he hoped Americans would contact their elected representatives about the Ukraine bill. “This spending does not help Ukraine. Prolonging the war does not help Ukraine.”

Musk has expressed similar sentiments before on X, doubting Ukraine’s ability to win the war and mocking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests for aid. The tech mogul has come under criticism from Ukraine and Democratic members of Congress.

Musk said there was pressure on Putin to see the fight through. “If he were to back off, he would be assassinated,” Musk said.