Elon Musk has encouraged U.S. voters to ask their representatives to oppose further military funding for Ukraine, claiming that there is “no way in hell” that Russia will lose the war and that further support to Kyiv will only prolong a futile conflict.
The billionaire shared his views while speaking to GOP Senators Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, and J.D. Vance, as well as former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy in an X Spaces conversation hosted by venture capitalist David Sacks. The group discussed a $95 billion spending package—including $60 billion for Ukraine—which cleared a key hurdle on Monday in a 66-33 Senate vote, meaning a vote on final passage could now take place this week.
Sen. Johnson opined that the “only way” that the war in Ukraine could end “is in a settlement.” He added that sending another $60 billion in aid would senselessly add “fuel to the flames of a bloody stalemate.” “As evil a war criminal as Putin is, he’s not going to lose this war, and our colleagues here just aren’t willing to accept that reality and they’re living in a fantasy world thinking Ukraine can win this thing—they can’t.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“That’s exactly right,” Musk agreed. The Tesla boss said that he has been accused of being a Putin apologist when he’s raised similar sentiments in the past, denouncing the charge as “absurd” in light of the work his companies have done to indirectly “undermine Russia.” He said that losing lives in war “must be for a purpose” and “not just a mile here, a mile there” like those lost on a daily basis in Ukraine. “For what purpose?” he asked. “As you say, there is no way in hell that Putin is going to lose.” He also claimed that if the Russian leader backed off from the war then “he would be assassinated,” likely leading to an even more “hardcore” replacement.
At the end of the conversation, Musk said: “Hopefully the public, American public, is able to listen to this and indeed contact their elected representatives.”
“The really important thing to bear in mind here is that this spending does not help Ukraine,” Musk said. “Prolonging the war does not help Ukraine. This is very important to appreciate.”
He added that he believes it’s “fantastic” that America “wants to be the good guy,” with Musk claiming most other countries are comparatively indifferent. “We want to do the right thing. We want to help people,” he said. “The problem is, prolonging the war and sacrificing the flower of Ukrainian youth—and we should have some sympathy for the Russian youth as well, it’s not like they want to be there—and having all these boys die for nothing is wrong, and it needs to stop. And that’s what it comes down to.”
“Shameful stuff,” Josh Rogin, a columnist for The Washington Post, wrote in an X post criticizing Musk’s comments. “Imagine telling Ukrainians fighting to protect their families and their towns they are dying for nothing. Disgraceful.”
“There has been no change in the Russia-Ukraine border for a year, just lots of dead kids,” Musk replied. “What kind of psycho wants that to continue?” Rogin hit back, insisting that Ukrainians “want to keep fighting because they have seen what happens under Russian occupation.” “Mass murder. Mass deportation of children. Ukrainians just want to keep defending themselves,” he wrote. Abandoning them would result in more dead young people not less.”
