Space X founder and the world’s richest person Elon Musk prompted an online war of words with Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy on Monday, 3 October, after Musk asked Twitter users to weigh in on his ideas to bring the Russia-Ukraine war to an end.
Musk, in a tweet, suggested that elections supervised by the United Nations should take place in the four regions that Russia illegally annexed after their ‘referendums.’
“Russia leaves if that is will of the people,” Musk wrote in a tweet.
Russia's 'referendum votes' were denounced by Kyiv and called a sham by Western governments.
The Tesla chief executive also suggested that the Russian-seized Crimea be formally recognised as Russia, that supply of water to Crimea be assured and that Ukraine remain neutral, asking Twitter users to vote yes or no to his idea.
Infuriated Ukrainians took to twitter, with President Zelenskyy responding with his own poll which said, “Which @elonmusk do you like more?,” and had two options: one who supports Ukraine, or supports Russia.
Musk followed up his first tweet with another poll that read, “Let’s try this then: the will of the people who live in the Donbas & Crimea should decide whether they’re part of Russia or Ukraine.”
He added that he does not care if his proposal was unpopular and argued that he did care “that millions of people may die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome”.
“Russia has >3 times population of Ukraine, so victory for Ukraine is unlikely in total war. If you care about the people of Ukraine, seek peace,” he posted on Twitter.
Zelenskyy’s aide Mykhaylo Podolyak suggested his “better peace plan” where Ukraine retook its territories including Crimea; Russia was demilitarised and de-nuclearised and that “war criminals” face an international tribunal.
“F*** O** is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk.”Andriy Melnyk, Outgoing Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, in a now-deleted tweet.
Melbyk had faced criticism in July for defending controversial World War Two Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera.
Musk’s plan also garnered opposition from other European leaders.
Gitanas Nausėda, President of Lithuanian, tweeted, “Dear @elonmusk, when someone tries to steal the wheels of your Tesla, it doesn’t make them legal owner of the car or of the wheels. Even though they claim both voted in favour of it. Just saying.”
In February, amid disruptions in Ukraine’s internet following Russia’s invasion, Musk responded to a tweet from a Ukrainian official seeking help.
He said that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine and added that the company was sending more terminals to the war-hit country.
“SpaceX’s out-of-pocket cost to enable & support Starlink in Ukraine is ~$80M so far. Our support for Russia is $0. Obviously, we are pro Ukraine,” Musk tweeted on Monday.
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation that provides satellite internet access.
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