'Time for Zelensky to go': Elon Musk calls for Ukrainian president to step down amid Starlink dispute

Elon Musk called on Wednesday, October 14 for Volodymyr Zelensky to “go” as Ukraine’s president, as Kyiv raised doubts over US support for the war-torn country.

Starlink’s founder and tech billionaire Musk has publicly renewed calls for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to step down, declaring on social media that "the slaughter continues" and that "it is time for Zelensky to go".

Ukraine accused the United States this week of helping Russia by failing to warn it of incoming missile strikes and hobbling Kyiv’s military response through changes to Musk’s satellite system which it uses for communications.

The fiery remarks came amid a mounting dispute over battlefield communications, following complaints from Kyiv that satellite services provided by SpaceX's network had experienced speed limitations and disruptions impacting military drones and defense systems.

Zelensky had called on Musk to restore Starlink, which was designed by the mogul’s SpaceX company and which Kyiv says has been slowed down.

Musk pushed back against the criticism, insisting that any throttling or restrictions on the system were the responsibility of the U.S. government rather than SpaceX, while drawing lines between civilian Starlink architecture and military-focused operations.

The public clash coincides with wider geopolitical tensions regarding shifting U.S. policy.

President Donald Trump's administration recently moved forward with an energy arrangement involving Russian diesel exports to help ease domestic fuel prices—a deal that prompted fierce pushback and accusations of betrayal from Ukrainian leadership.

With friction mounting over foreign aid, intelligence sharing, and the reliance of Ukraine's frontlines on private satellite infrastructure, Musk's intervention marks a dramatic new flashpoint in the international politics surrounding the war.