Elon Musk has been criticized for posting a meme referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a caption mocking aid for the country.
Musk posted a version of the “frustrated boy meme,” according to the Kyiv Post, accompanied by the caption, “When it’s been five minutes and you haven’t asked for a billion dollars in aid.”
A senior aide to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, hit out at Musk in a statement: “Any support for Russia today is a direct investment in war, genocide, destruction of the free world, escalation and the right to impunity. Any silence or irony towards Ukraine today is a direct encouragement of Russian propaganda that justifies mass violence and destruction.”
He added, “Unfortunately, not everyone and not always, being significant media figures thousands of kilometers away from the epicenter of the war, is able to realize what the daily bombardments and the cries of children losing their parents are.”
Journalist Julia Davis, the creator of the Russian Media Monitor, responded, “Because Zelensky dares to stand up to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Elon never could.”
A Ukrainian Twitter user known as Kate from Kharkiv derisively referred to Musk as “Elmo” and said he “is, without a doubt, the most effective russian investment. How do you live with yourself knowing you promote genocide of the entire nation to huge audience @elonmusk?”
Former CIA officer John Sipher simply said to Musk, “Get help.”