Elon Musk arrives to court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 30, 2026, in Oakland, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy / Getty Images)
By Brooklynn Robinson October 23, 2026 at 1:56pm
Elon Musk said on Friday that Ukraine’s elites have grown wealthy from the hundreds of billions of dollars flowing into the country, even as ordinary citizens’ children are conscripted and sent to die in trenches.
In a post on X, the billionaire wrote: “What’s actually going on in Ukraine is that there is a massive incentive difference between the elites and the people. The former have grown very rich off the hundreds of billions flowing to Ukraine, while the latter’s children are conscripted to die in trenches.”
What’s actually going on in Ukraine is that there is a massive incentive difference between the elites and the people.
The former have grown very rich off the hundreds of billions flowing to Ukraine, while the latter’s children are conscripted to die in trenches.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 23, 2026
Musk followed up in a second post: “And some of that US taxpayer money comes back through multiple laundry machines to fund political campaigns in America, which is why you see some politicians caring more about Ukraine than America!”
And some of that US taxpayer money comes back through multiple laundry machines to fund political campaigns in America, which is why you see some politicians caring more about Ukraine than America!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 23, 2026
The posts drew tens of thousands of likes and thousands of replies within hours, with reactions ranging from agreement to accusations that the comments amounted to propaganda or overlooked the war’s broader context.
@elonmusk Forced mobilization where men are dragged out of their homes and beaten into vans.
https://t.co/La6lm2gDAF
— Mary Tiles Texas (@MaryTilesTexas) October 23, 2026
@elonmusk Exactly right https://t.co/62XQUKbq3c
— American AF 🇺🇸 (@iAnonPatriot) October 23, 2026
Zelensky’s Gestapo.
This is where they hold forcibly mobilized Ukrainians.
They are tortured and beaten there.
Those who refuse to fight are killed.Zelensky is a military dictator. https://t.co/m8aPviweCR
— Diana Panchenko 🇺🇦 (@Panchenko_X) October 23, 2026
Musk has previously commented on the human cost of the conflict, including posts noting that Ukrainian and Russian youth have died in trenches with limited territorial gains.
His latest remarks focused on what he described as divergent incentives between Ukraine’s leadership and its population, along with the flow of U.S. funds.
Do you agree with Musk that Ukraine’s elites are profiting from U.S. taxpayer dollars?
The comments arrive amid ongoing debates in Washington over continued assistance, with some lawmakers pressing for greater oversight of aid and others arguing that support remains essential to counter Russian advances.
The posts did not cite specific documentation for the claims about enrichment or money returning to American political campaigns.
Ukrainian officials and some observers have previously rejected similar characterizations of aid distribution as unsubstantiated, pointing instead to audits and the country’s wartime expenditure needs.
U.S. assistance to Ukraine since 2022 has totaled more than $175 billion across military, economic, and humanitarian categories, according to figures compiled by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
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