Elon Musk has sarcastically dismissed Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s assurances about the complete accountability of US-provided weapons and funds, calling them “the funniest thing.”
Musk, the tech entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “efficiency tsar,” mocked Zelensky’s claims that Ukraine is fully transparent regarding all American aid it receives.
Former US President Donald Trump has stated that Washington has given approximately $200 billion to Kiev and has argued that the US should be compensated through access to Ukraine’s mineral resources.
Zelensky has consistently challenged Trump’s figures, most recently in a Thursday interview.
Zelensky told Ben Shapiro, “We have complete reporting, accounting, absolutely transparent,” He asserted that all Western aid is rigorously monitored by both foreign and domestic auditors, and dismissed Trump’s figures as Russian “fake news.”
Senator Mike Lee shared a clip of Zelensky’s comments on X, formerly Twitter. Musk, who owns X, responded with “Funniest thing I’ve read all day,” and added two rolling-on-the-floor-laughing emojis.
Zelensky told Shapiro that Ukrainian records indicate approximately $105 billion in US aid, mainly in the form of weaponry. Citing Defense Ministry documentation, he claimed that no arms have been diverted to the black market. He clarified that he was not disputing Trump’s figure but simply reporting the “output” on the Ukrainian side.
In February, Zelensky stated that Ukrainians had received “about $76 billion” in US aid, adding he did not know what had happened to the remaining funds from the claimed $200 billion.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry has been plagued by numerous corruption scandals in recent years, including the highly publicized “Reznikov’s golden eggs” case, involving allegations of inflated food prices for the military during 2022-2023 under then-Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov.
This month, Kiev authorities announced charges against a former military procurement head and several business associates suspected of profiting from the scheme. Reznikov was dismissed in September 2023, months after the pricing irregularities came to light, but has not been charged with any crime.