Zelensky criticizes Elon Musk and warns about power of billionaires over war decisions
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has challenged Elon Musk’s comments on the war and questioned the influence of very wealthy individuals over security and political decisions, arguing that such power should be checked by democratic institutions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is sharpening his warnings about how much sway private billionaires can have over war and politics, using Elon Musk as a prominent example.
In comments released on 5 November, Zelensky said, “We don't like his attitude toward this war when he thinks about how Russia is losing soldiers.” He added of the Russian military that, “The aggressor — God bless that they lose soldiers who are on another territory, not on their own land.” He said he did not know whether Musk was serious or joking about some of his remarks on the conflict, but that these were not jokes he could accept, even though he said he understands humour well.
Zelensky also addressed Musk’s broader influence. He said that having power concentrated “in the hands of a very rich person is dangerous,” and that concentrating power in the hands of any single person with little money is dangerous too. He tied this concern to the basic idea of separation of powers, which is meant to prevent key decisions from resting with one individual.
Referring to Musk’s public statements, Zelensky said he believes the billionaire’s views about how Europe should live, who should play a leading role in Germany, and who should be in power in Ukraine “are not just words.” When such opinions come from a very rich person, he argued, they carry influence, including in countries where that person is not a citizen. Zelensky said Musk “has no right to influence these things” because he is a citizen of another state.
For Ukraine, which depends heavily on foreign‑supplied technology and infrastructure, including services linked to Musk, these concerns are rooted in daily realities. Military units, emergency services, and civilian officials rely on privately run communications and platforms. Decisions by the owners of those systems—whether over access, pricing, or public messaging—can affect how Ukrainians fight, communicate, and plan.
Western governments face related questions. National security officials in the United States and Europe now have to factor the views and business interests of individual tech magnates into war planning and diplomacy, especially when key services are privately controlled. That raises difficult issues over whether existing laws and regulations give democratic states enough leverage to ensure that wartime infrastructure cannot be unilaterally restricted or reshaped by people outside formal chains of command.
Zelensky’s remarks on Musk came as he also stressed Ukraine’s institutional backing in Washington. He said Ukraine has bipartisan support and expressed gratitude to Republicans, while highlighting that Democrats “speak very clearly about supporting Ukraine and providing assistance to Ukraine.” He added that they talk about restoring ties between the United States and Europe that he said have been somewhat lost in recent years, describing that as very important for Kyiv.
The broader trend is that modern wars run through privately owned platforms and systems as much as through state arsenals. From satellites and cloud infrastructure to payment networks and social media, core elements of national resilience increasingly sit in corporate hands and are shaped by the priorities of a few influential individuals.
Signals to watch now include any changes in how Ukraine structures agreements with foreign technology providers, steps by Western legislatures to assert more oversight over critical digital infrastructure, and shifts in Musk’s own public stance on the conflict. For the moment, Ukraine continues to rely on services controlled abroad while its president calls for decisions about war and peace to remain anchored in democratic institutions rather than individual fortunes.
Sources
- OSINT