Zelensky Rebukes Elon Musk’s Peace Proposal in DealBook Summit Talk - The New York Times

DealBook|President Zelensky of Ukraine rebukes Elon Musk’s bid proposal.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine connected Wednesday invited Elon Musk to sojourn Ukraine to spot the harm done to the state by Russian forces, saying that specified a sojourn could assistance the billionaire recognize the concern earlier making pronouncements astir it. He besides said helium didn’t deliberation determination was immoderate contiguous menace that Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, would usage atomic weapons arsenic the warfare enters a caller signifier of wintertime combat.

Mr. Zelensky’s comments, made via video nexus to The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, were an implicit rebuke of Mr. Musk, the entrepreneur who past period projected a bid program for Ukraine that included ceding territory to Russia.

“If you privation to recognize what Russia has done here, travel to Ukraine and you volition spot this with your ain eyes,” Mr. Zelensky said. “After that, you volition archer america however to extremity this war, who started and erstwhile we tin extremity it.”

SpaceX, which Mr. Musk owns, funds the cognition of the Starlink net service successful Ukraine, wherever it has go a integer lifeline for soldiers and civilians amid Russian attacks connected the country’s vigor infrastructure.

Mr. Musk backed disconnected a menace successful October to retreat backing for the work successful Ukraine. “The hellhole with it,” helium wrote connected Twitter. He added that “even though Starlink is inactive losing money” and “other companies are getting billions” successful taxation dollars, “we’ll conscionable support funding” the Ukrainian service.

Mr. Musk’s wealthiness has fixed him a salient dependable successful geopolitics, and the Kremlin welcomed his proposal. Mr. Zelensky posted a Twitter canvass asking, “Which Elon Musk bash you similar more: 1 who supports Ukraine, oregon 1 who supports Russia?” Mr. Musk aboriginal said successful a tweet that helium supported Ukraine.

During the interrogation with Andrew Ross Sorkin of The Times, the video nexus chopped out, and erstwhile it resumed, Mr. Sorkin joked that Mr. Musk mightiness person someway chopped the connection.

“I perceive you,” Mr. Zelensky said. “Most important is that Mr. Musk volition perceive us.”

Mr. Zelensky said the hazard that Mr. Putin would usage atomic weapons was not his biggest fear, and that it shouldn’t beryllium the biggest fearfulness of the West.

“I don’t deliberation helium volition usage atomic weapons,” Mr. Zelensky said. “This is my opinion.”

Instead, Western democracies should beryllium astir acrophobic astir Putin’s expansionist subject ambitions, helium said. If his subject succeeds successful conquering parts of Ukraine, helium said, different neighboring democracies could beryllium next.