Beril Canakci
20 February 2025•Update: 20 February 2025
ISTANBUL
Under fire for his remarks calling Ukraine’s president a “dictator,” US President Donald Trump on Wednesday turned for support to his political ally, Elon Musk, citing the billionaire’s remarks praising Trump’s Ukraine policy.
As quoted by Trump on his Trust Social platform, Musk said: "The President’s instincts on Ukraine are absolutely right. It is really sad that so many parents have lost their sons, and so many sons their fathers in this pointless war." Trump is pushing for US talks with Moscow to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which is now almost three years old.
Musk also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's July 2022 photo shoot for Vogue magazine – just months after the war started – saying on X: "He did this while kids are dying in trenches on the war front." At the time, Ukrainian relief groups such as NOVA Ukraine defended the article as helping raise awareness of the war and the need for international assistance.
Musk also accused the Ukrainian president of killing an American journalist, Chilean-American journalist Gonzalo Lira, after reports he was killed last year for being critical of Zelenskyy.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and other groups have alleged the killings of critical journalists in Russia, claims denied by the Russian government.
Musk’s defense followed Trump labeling Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" and a warning that he "better move fast or he is not going to have a country left."
Under Ukraine’s Constitution, according to Zelenskyy, elections cannot be held during wartime.
