Ukraine president rebukes Elon Musk’s peace proposal
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine on Wednesday invited Elon Musk to visit Ukraine to see the damage done to the country by Russian forces, saying that such a visit could help the billionaire understand the situation before making pronouncements about it.
He also said he didn’t think there was any immediate threat that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, would use nuclear weapons as the war enters a new phase of winter combat. Zelenskyy’s comments, made via video link to The New York Times’ Dealbook Summit, were an implicit rebuke of Musk, who last month proposed a peace plan for Ukraine that included ceding territory to Russia.
“If you want to understand what Russia has done here, come to Ukraine and you will see this with your own eyes,” Zelenskyy said. “After that, you will tell us how to end this war, who started it and when we can end it.”
Spacex, which Musk owns, funds the operation of the Starlink internet service in Ukraine, where it has become a digital lifeline for soldiers and civilians amid Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
Musk backed off a threat in October to withdraw funding for the service in Ukraine.
“The hell with it,” he wrote on Twitter. He added that “even though Starlink is still losing money” and “other companies are getting billions” in tax dollars, “we’ll just keep funding” the Ukrainian service.