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Elon Musk has continued to attack Volodymyr Zelensky (Image: Getty)
Elon Musk has taken another swipe at Volodymyr Zelensky as the row between the US and Ukraine intensifies.
Mr Musk continued his attack on the Ukrainian president with a post on his X platform in which he repeated Donald Trump's claim Mr Zelensky has an approval rating of 4%. The US president also called his Ukrainian counterpart a dictator for not holding elections.
The Tesla Chief Executive posted on X: "In reality, he is despised by the people of Ukraine, which is why he has refused to hold an election."
He added: "I challenge Zelensky to hold an election and refute this. He will not... President Trump is right to ignore him and solve (sic) for peace independent of the disgusting, massive graft machine feeding off the dead bodies of Ukrainian soldiers."
Mr Musk's latest criticism echoed false Kremlin claims Mr Zelensky is a dictator without legitimacy.
Mr Zelensky was elected to a five-year term in 2019, and the next presidential elections had been scheduled for spring 2024. But Ukrainian law prohibits parliamentary or presidential elections during a state of martial law, so Mr Zelensky has remained in office.
In terms of his popularity, Mr Zelensky "retains a fairly high level of public trust" of 57%, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. His ratings have, however, been dropping.
Mr Musk's comments were in response to a post from an anonymous X account which sought to cast doubt on the Institute's polling.
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Wounded Ukrainian soldiers receive treatment in Pokrovsk (Image: Getty)
UK's top diplomat says peace deal must respect Ukraine's sovereignty
David Lammy has told global foreign ministers that peace with Ukraine would mean President Vladimir Putin "finding a way forward which respects Ukraine's sovereignty".
The Foreign Secretary was speaking at the G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Johannesburg. The summit was also attended by Russia's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov, who left the room before Mr Lammy's speech in an apparent snub.
Mr Lammy told delegates: "You know, mature countries learn from their colonial failures and their wars, and Europeans have had much to learn over the generations and the centuries. But I'm afraid to say that Russia has learned nothing."
He added: "We are at a crucial juncture in this conflict, and Russia faces a test. If Putin is serious about a lasting peace, it means finding a way forward which respects Ukraine's sovereignty and the UN Charter which provides credible security guarantees, and which rejects Tsarist imperialism, and Britain is ready to listen."
Britain's foreign secretary said he also didn't "see an appetite" to reach a peace deal on Russia's part after listening to Lavrov's speech.
David Lammy was apparently snubbed by his Russian counterpart (Image: Getty)
Zelensky press conference with Trump's Ukraine envoy cancelled
A press conference which was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was cancelled on Thursday as tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the war with Russia.
The event was supposed to include Mr Zelensky and retired US Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a photo opportunity where the two posed for photographers.
They did not deliver statements or field questions as expected. The change was requested by the US side, according to Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov.
Mr Kellogg’s trip to Kyiv came amid a row between Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky which has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of US support for Ukraine.
Mr Zelensky and Mr Kellogg in Kyiv (Image: Getty)
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