Musk renews attack on Zelensky over ‘murder’ of US journalist

Ukraine’s leader did not even understand why it was “bad” to “murder” Gonzalo Lira, Elon Musk says.

Billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, renewed his attack on Vladimir Zelensky, claiming the Ukrainian leader did not even realize it was “bad” to “murder” American journalist Gonzalo Lira.

The filmmaker and blogger of Chilean origin died in early 2024 while he was incarcerated in Ukraine, pending trial for allegedly “systematically justifying the Russian aggression.” The journalist, who had resided in the country since 2010, was highly critical of Zelensky’s government.

“Zelensky should not have murdered an American journalist. He didn’t even understand why that was bad,” Musk wrote on his social media platform X on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO had squarely accused the country’s leader of “killing” the blogger.

Lira got in trouble with Ukrainian authorities over his coverage of the conflict between Kiev and Moscow on his YouTube channel, and faced accusations of disseminating “Russian propaganda.”

The journalist had been highly critical of Western media efforts to portray Ukraine as a “democracy,” pointing to widespread corruption and compiling a list of Zelensky’s opponents who had been allegedly “disappeared” by the authorities.

The journalist was initially arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in May 2023 and was released on bail three months later, claiming he was systematically subjected to torture while in prison. He ended up in custody again later that year after jumping bail and attempting to leave the country to seek asylum in Hungary. At the time, his father, Gonzalo Lira Sr., suggested that then-US authorities gave “at least tacit approval of Gonzalo’s arrest.”

After the journalist died in prison, his family accused Kiev of being complicit in his death, yet the Ukrainian authorities denied any wrongdoing.

While Musk had been vocal about the Lira affair before, the renewed attack on Zelensky comes amid a bitter spat between Kiev and Washington.

Zelensky and Trump, as well as other top officials, have been publicly trading accusations over the past few days. The Ukrainian leader, for instance, accused the US president of “living in a disinformation bubble” allegedly created by Russia, when he shot down a proposed deal to give the US access to Ukraine’s rare earths as compensation for the military aid it had been receiving.

Trump has branded Zelensky a “dictator without elections,” pointing at the fact his presidential term expired back in May 2024 and claiming the Ukrainian leader had an extremely low approval rating in his country.

Other top US officials berated Kiev for showing disrespect to Washington, and demanded that Ukraine sign the rare earths deal or face consequences.