Washington: Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should leave office, amid a dispute over satellite services used by Ukraine’s military and growing tensions over US support.
Musk made the remarks on X after Zelensky urged him to restore Starlink services, which Kyiv said had been slowed down, affecting military communications.
Musk said the US government was responsible for any disruption. He distinguished between Starshield, which he said was controlled by Washington and used for battlefield communications, and the civilian Starlink network.
He said Ukraine also used Starlink but was not permitted to deploy it for offensive operations. Both systems were developed by his company SpaceX.
The exchange followed Ukrainian accusations that Washington was helping Russia by withholding warnings of incoming missile strikes and restricting Kyiv’s military response through changes to satellite services.
A senior official in Kyiv said the US had recently threatened to stop sharing intelligence on Russian missile launches. US President Donald Trump denied that claim.
Relations have also deteriorated over a US diesel supply agreement with Russia, which remains under heavy sanctions. Asked whether he felt betrayed following the announcement, Zelensky said he did.
Trump responded on Saturday by calling for Ukraine to choose a new president who could negotiate an agreement.
The dispute comes ahead of US midterm elections next month, with rising fuel prices a significant domestic issue. Trump has blamed Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries for reducing supplies and pushing up prices.
