Elon Musk has branded Volodymyr Zelensky ‘evil’ for pushing a ‘forever war’ with Russia.

‘Zelensky wants a forever war, a never-ending graft meat grinder. This is evil,’ Musk said in reaction to a Truth Social post by Donald Trump lashing out at Zelensky for saying the end of the war with Russia was ‘still very, very far away’.

‘This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer,’ an infuriated Trump posted on his Truth Social website after upping the pressure on Kyiv to end the war.

Trump added that Zelensky ‘doesn’t want there to be peace as long as he has America’s backing’.

Musk also alleged in another post that Zelensky ‘wants a forever war’ because he would otherwise ‘lose his spotlight on the international stage’.

US President Trump hinted during a press conference on Monday that Zelensky might not survive long as Ukrainian president if he continued to make demands ahead of a peace deal.

‘It should not be that hard a deal to make,’ Trump told reporters at the White House.

‘It could be made very fast. Now, maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long.’

Elon Musk listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 11, 2025

Donald Trump (pictured) slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, saying he wasn’t interested in finding peace

Trump renewed his attack on Zelensky with a Truth Social post

On Friday, Zelensky’s visit to the White House ended in disaster after the two leaders clashed in the Oval Office over whether or not Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted.

Zelensky then traveled to the UK where European leaders – among them France, Germany and the UK – and Canada scrambled to thrash out a joint position on Ukraine at an emergency summit before reiterating their support for the war-torn country.

Trump said: ‘It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelensky, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S.’

He added in what appeared to be an attack on European leaders: ‘Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?’

This comes after NATO chief Mark Rutte last night pointed to promises from more European countries to ‘ramp up defence spending’, while insisting that Washington remained committed to the transatlantic alliance.

French President Emmanuel Macron suggested that European countries should raise their defence spending to between 3.0 and 3.5 percent of GDP to respond to Washington’s shifting priorities and Russia’s militarisation.

Last week, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmerannounced that the UK would increase its defence spending to 2.5 per cent of its GDP, slashing the aid budget, with plans to increase military spending to three per cent soon after.

While the US is the largest single donor of aid to Ukraine, more than 50 allies and partner countries have provided security assurances to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and France’s President Emmanuel Macron embrace after holding a meeting during a summit at Lancaster House in central London on March 2, 2025

As of December 31, 2024, Europe had contributed 132.3bn euros in allocated aid, versus 114.2bn given by the US.

Europe’s contributions are also expected to keep flowing; 115.1bn remained to be allocated from Europe, with just 4.84bn from the US.

The key difference is in what the U.S. is able to supply. Britain has been able to match the U.S. with long-range missiles, able to hit deep into Russian territory. And the Challenger 2 tank has been one of the most reliable fixtures on the battlefield.

But American air defences – and their sheer volume – are critical to fending off Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and disrupting utilities.

Long range ATACMS missiles can also ‘make a significant difference in the war’, according to Olga Tokariuk, Academy Associate, Ukraine Forum, Russia and Eurasia Programme.

The summit between the European leaders, where countries promised to increase their defence spending to react to Washington’s shifting priorities and Russia’s militarisation, has been commended by US national security advisor Mike Waltz.

‘We welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security,’ he told reporters at the White House and even praised Sir Keir and Macron.

National Security Adviser Mike Waltz (left) and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, greets French President Emmanuel Macron as he arrives for a summit on Ukraine at Lancaster House in London, Sunday, March 2, 2025

‘I mean that’s been an underpinning. They have to invest in the capability to do that. They’re certainly showing a will. Both Starmer and Macron showed that will last week before Friday.’

Waltz added: ‘We also had the NATO Secretary-General on the phone with the president before President Zelensky came. We welcome Europe stepping up for Europe, but they have to also invest in the capabilities to do so.

‘All of that was evident was before Friday, and he [Zelensky] could have been left with economic guarantees that benefited Ukraine […] it’s really confounding to us why we had such hostility coming in.’

Read more