On Monday, billionaire Elon Musk asked Twitter users to vote on a plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine, which caused immediate condemnation from Ukrainians, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who responded with his own poll.
Zelenskiy tweeted, giving two responses: one who supports Ukraine, one who supports Russia.
After referendums, Musk, the world's richest person, proposed UN-supervised elections in four occupied regions that Moscow moved to annex. The votes were denounced by Kyiv and Western governments as illegal and coercive.
Musk wrote that Russia leaves if that is the will of the people.
The Tesla Inc. chief executive suggested that Crimea, which Moscow seized in 2014, be recognized as Russia, that water supply to Crimea be assured and that Ukraine remain neutral. He asked Twitter users to vote 'yes' or 'no' on the plan.
When someone tries to steal the wheels of your Tesla, it doesn't make them the legal owner of the car or wheels. Both of them voted in favor of it. Lithuania's President Gitanas Naus da tweeted a response.
Musk, who is also Chief Executive of SpaceX, said in a statement that "let's try this then: the will of the people who live in Donbas Crimea should decide whether they are part of Russia or Ukraine." He said he didn't care if his proposal was unpopular, arguing that he did care that millions of people could die needlessly for an essentially identical outcome. Russia has 3 times the population of Ukraine, so victory for Ukraine is unlikely to be a major cause of the war. If you care about the people of Ukraine, seek peace, he posted on Twitter.
In February when Ukraine's internet was disrupted following Russia's invasion, Musk responded to a tweet by a Ukrainian government official seeking help. Musk said SpaceX's Starlink satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine and SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country.
SpaceX's out of pocket cost to support Starlink in Ukraine is $80 M so far. Our support for Russia is $0. Musk posted later on Monday that we are pro Ukraine.
Ukraine's outspoken ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, had a blunt reaction to Musk's peace plan. In July, Melnyk faced criticism for defending the controversial World War Two Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera.
Melnyk tweeted a very diplomatic reply to you elonmusk. Fuck off.