The statements came on Monday in connection with a conversation at X Spaces, which is part of X, formerly Twitter, writes Bloomberg. Musk owns X.
There, Tesla owner Elon Musk engaged in a conversation with Republican senators Ron Johnson, JD Vance and Mike Lee and founders Vivek Ramaswamy and David Sacks.
Musk agrees with Johnson who is sure that Vladimir Putin is not going to lose the war in Ukraine. The senator says that those who believe otherwise “live in a fantasy world”.
Will weaken support
So far, Russia does not seem to have been particularly successful with its invasion of Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed out last year that 50 percent of the areas Russia conquered in the first months of the war had been recaptured by the Ukrainians. In recent months there has been very little movement along the front lines.
The NATO countries that have stepped in with support for Ukraine have a combined economy that is many times larger than Russia’s. How much can be difficult to estimate, but estimates adjusted for purchasing power suggest that the Russian economy is about 10 percent of that of NATO countries, according to the website World Economics.
Many analysts believe that Vladimir Putin is now waiting for support for Ukraine to weaken in the West, so that the Ukrainian defense collapses.
No help
The Senate on Tuesday gave the green light to a new aid package of 95 billion dollars, of which 60 billion dollars will go to Ukraine. The package now goes on to be considered in the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have a majority.
Musk believes voters must call their elected representatives to ask them to vote down the package.
– This spending does not help Ukraine. Prolonging the war does not help Ukraine, he said.
According to Musk, it is unlikely that Putin will withdraw because the consequence could be that he is liquidated.
Biden and McConnell
Musk’s view on the matter stands in stark contrast to President Joe Biden and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell’s. Both argue strongly that aid to Ukraine’s defense against Russia is in the US interest and will deter other dictators from starting their own wars.
Musk believes that someone tougher than Putin himself is needed to bring him down.
– Is it likely that the person could be a pacifist? Probably not, he says.
Starlink
Musk also controls the company Starlink, which has a network of satellites and offers a mobile telecommunications network in areas without other internet coverage. Ukraine has used the network extensively in its warfare against the Russian invasion forces.
Recently, however, Ukrainian authorities have claimed that Starlink terminals have been used by Russian forces. Musk categorically denies this.
Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR) said on Tuesday that Russia is acquiring terminals for use on the battlefield via Arab countries.
They also presented what they said was an audio recording of two Russian soldiers discussing the purchase of, among other things, Starlink devices from Arab sellers for around 200,000 Russian rubles per device.
2024-02-13 14:21:39
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