Ukrainians React Strongly to Musk's Mockery
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, who has been waging war against Russia and repeatedly appealing to the West for support, is being criticized after Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, mocked him.
On the 1st (local time), Musk posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "When billions of dollars in aid haven't been requested even after 5 minutes." Along with this, he uploaded a meme featuring a boy struggling in pain with veins bulging on his forehead, with President Zelensky's face superimposed on it.
Since Russia's invasion in February last year, President Zelensky and senior Ukrainian officials have continuously appealed to allied countries for billions of dollars in military aid. Musk appeared to mock Zelensky by implying that he struggles to endure even 5 minutes without constantly requesting support.
The post came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden signed a 45-day temporary budget bill to prevent a federal government shutdown. The temporary budget did not include provisions for aid to Ukraine.
Ukrainians immediately voiced criticism of Musk's post. Ukrainian cartoonist Vasyl Bidayak asked, "Elon, did you write this meme while on the phone with Putin (Russian President Vladimir Putin)?" The Ukrainian English-language media outlet Ukrainska Pravda responded by inserting Musk's face into the same photo with the caption, "When you haven't spread Russian propaganda even after 5 minutes."
Meanwhile, the recently published Musk biography titled Elon Musk sparked controversy by claiming that Musk interfered in the Ukraine war by not activating the Starlink satellite communication network. However, the author Walter Isaacson later acknowledged that there were errors in the biography's content.
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