Multibillionaire and Space X owner Elon Musk is facing fresh criticism for one of his latest social media posts, made on Monday, where he voiced negative opinions on Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
In the Sept. 18 post on X (formerly Twitter) Musk wrote “So much death for so little,” apparently in agreement with a post by David Sacks, a venture capitalist and friend of Musk – who has criticized US support for Ukraine.
Sacks had posted the quote, “Ukrainian territorial gains from their much-vaunted counteroffensive … are so miniscule they can barely be seen on a map,” attributing it to David Pyne, a contributor to The National Interest magazine, which is published by the Washington think tank, Center for the National Interest.
James Kirchick, a journalist for Politico ,wrote back in 2016: “As for the Center, both it and its journal, the National Interest, are two of the most Kremlin-sympathetic institutions in the nation’s capital, even more so than the Carnegie Moscow Center, which has evolved from a hub of Russian liberalism into an accommodationist, intellectually-compromised think tank.”
While Musk had his share of supporters on X, many voiced their anger and displeasure with the comment of the Space X and Tesla CEO.
“Elon … Stick to cars please,” one user wrote.
Another, using the name “Scribbles,” wrote: “It’s a fight for liberty against a genocidal invader. It’s not so little, it’s everything.”
ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October, 31, 2024
“Russia can end this at any moment by leaving Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to fight to the death against any invader. That’s what freedom means,” another posted.
In another post the same individual said: “Freedom is bought by blood and suffering. Those who think freedom is found in ‘peace’ and ‘negotiations’ will soon lose their freedoms entirely.”
While another user wrote: “Also: Your decisions [with regards to] Starlink enabled RU & gave it time. NOW you bemoan the result? GMAB [Give me a break].”
A senate probe has been launched calling for a review of any incidents where Space X or others have disabled Ukrainian services following the revelation that Musk had not extended the private Starlink satellite network to aid Kyiv’s attack on Russian warships in Ukrainian waters near the Crimean coast.
Musk said he made the decision fearing that Moscow would retaliate with nuclear weapons.
“If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation,” Musk said.
The move triggered an immediate backlash in Ukraine.
“Sometimes a mistake is more than just a mistake. By not allowing Ukrainian drones to destroy part of the Russian military (!) fleet via Starlink interference, Elon Musk allowed this fleet to fire Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities. As a result, civilians, children are being killed. This is the price of a cocktail of ignorance and big ego,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote.
In an op-ed published in The Guardian, American historian Timothy Snyder was also highly critical of the multibillionaire.
“The Ukrainians took this decision under stress, since if a weapon were detonated it would be on their territory. Musk, who was in no danger of any kind, chose instead to give in to nuclear blackmail, thereby encouraging more of it,” Snyder wrote.
Snyder argued that Musk’s decisions gave Russians time to build more fortifications and lay the mines that are now slowing Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Ukraine has recently been having success with its grinding counteroffensive.
On Saturday and then on Monday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) announced the liberation of the villages of Andriivka and Klishchiivka respectively – each setting the stage for a possible assault on the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut.
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