A few days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Elon Musk was one of the very first CEOs of a multinational to publicly support Kiev, breaking with the traditional neutrality of industry bosses in geopolitical affairs.
His decision to then support Ukraine by providing Starlink, the Internet access service developed by SpaceX, his rocket and satellite company, was a game changer in this conflict for strategic reasons.
On the one hand, Starlink has enabled Ukraine to have an essential, independent and secure communications service, thus avoiding Russian espionage. Starlink made it possible to avoid the Russians finding out the details of Ukrainian attacks, according to the experts.
On the other side, Starlink has also contributed to enabling Ukrainians to stay connected to the world and to tell their daily life of war on social networks. This represented a great victory for Ukraine in the communication war, because it allows to influence world opinion. The West has framed the Russian war in Ukraine as the clash between democracy (Ukraine) and dictatorship (Russia).
A Big Change
Musk, in return, has seen his popularity increase at a spectacular speed around the world. He now has more than 144 million Twitter followers and whispers in the ear of heads of state, who give him superstar treatment when he visits their countries. This was the case with France and Italy in mid-June.
The serial entrepreneur, who describes himself as a man of peace, is overcome by frustration around this conflict, the outcome of which remains unknown for both sides and their supporters. He proposed a peace plan last October, which was vehemently rejected by the Ukrainians, because it incorporated many Russian demands.
The billionaire's attempt caused a kind of schism with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In the face of fierce criticism, Musk withdrew his peace plan, but continued to campaign for peace, which he believes is the only way to end the conflict.
A few months after Musk's failed proposal, the American public opinion has changed a lot about this war. The share of Americans who believe that the United States provides too much support to Ukraine has steadily increased since the beginning of the year, according to a recent study from Pew Research.
The change is led by Republicans, with 44% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents saying that the U.S. is giving too much aid to Ukraine, compared to 40% in January. This is the highest level since shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the study says.
Roughly a third of Americans (32%) say Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a major threat to U.S. interests, according to the research, while the same number say that it is a minor threat. About 11% say that it is not a threat.
However, in March 2022, half of the Americans said that Russia’s invasion posed a major threat to U.S. interests.
This major change in opinion, which is also accompanied by criticism from GOP lawmakers, has just reinvigorated Musk. The billionaire believes that the time has come to ask the questions that annoy Ukraine about American aid. U.S. taxpayers have the right to know how their money is being used.
Taxpayer Money
"The good news is that Ukraine caught their highest judge hiding some of his more than $2 million in bribes in pickle jars," Kentucky Republican senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said on Twitter on Jun. 21, with a link to a story from Politico about a Ukrainian judge who allegedly stashed some $150,000 of bribes in pickle jars. "The bad news is that Ukraine, consistently ranked as one of the most corrupt nations on the planet, still has high-ranking officials robbing it blind."
The alleged facts took place before the Russia-Ukraine war. The money, therefore, has nothing to do with the American aid since the beginning of the conflict last year.
Paul, a libertarian who often opposes U.S. intervention abroad, continued: "This might be a salient point when Ukraine returns to Congress to beg for more US taxpayer funds. Why won’t Democrats accept my call for a Special Inspector General to oversee the billions we send to Ukraine?"
Musk agrees and even believes that this should be the principle.
"Some accounting of how American taxpayer money is being spent sure sounds like a reasonable request!" the billionaire said.
This request from Musk comes days after he suggested that he shares the opinion of David Sacks, a friend and tech investor, who believes that the great Ukrainian counteroffensive, currently underway, is "failing".
The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on June 9 an additional $2.1 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, containing more air defense and ammunition capabilities.
The capabilities contained in the package include additional munitions for Patriot air defense systems, HAWK air defense systems and missiles, additional artillery rounds and other items, the Pentagon detailed in a statement. In total, the U.S. has provided more than $39.7 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
