Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Melnyk told billionaire Elon Musk to “f— off” after the SpaceX and Tesla CEO proposed Ukraine give up some territory and hold new elections in contested regions to end the war with Russia.
Musk tweeted out a poll on Monday asking respondents to weigh in on his proposal to end the war: redoing elections of annexed region under United Nations supervision, giving up the Crimean peninsula to Russia and maintaining Ukraine as a neutral country between Russia and the West.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also took to social media to post the question: “Which Elon Musk do you like more? The one who supports Ukraine? The one who supports Russia?”
SpaceX founder Musk suggested to his 107 million followers on Monday that recent referendums held by Vladimir Putin on whether to annex four regions of Ukraine, including the Donbas, should be redone under the supervision of the United Nations.
He also proposed that Ukraine would remain neutral in global affairs. The country’s relationship with the West, including Britain and the US, has long been a point of tension with the Kremlin.
The Russian president has threatened to use “all the means at our disposal” if his country is threatened, seen as a sign that he could use tactical nuclear weapons in response to attacks on parts of Ukraine he has annexed.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy responded with a Twitter poll of his own.
"Which Elon Musk do you like more," Zelenskyy asked. "The one who supports Ukraine" or "The one who supports Russia."
The sharp responses from Ukraine were all the more notable because Musk has earned quasi folk-hero status in Ukraine since the start of the conflict.
Musk's Starlink satellite communication system has allowed Ukrainians and the Ukrainian military to bypass internet outages that have plagued the country.
Yet the remarks from Musk are not entirely out of character for the political iconoclast and world's richest man.
While the business interests of Tesla have traditionally aligned with the American political left, Musk himself has of late cultivated an antagonistic relationship with major Democratic political figures including President Joe Biden, whose administration has boosted Ukraine through weapons packages and sanctions on Moscow.
The world’s wealthiest man Elon Musk faced sharp backlash Monday afternoon after sharing his thoughts on how to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on terms far more amenable to Russia than the Western consensus, continuing to opine about global politics on the heels of bad corporate news closer to home.
The Tesla CEO explained in a follow-up post it’s “highly likely to be the outcome in the end – just a question of how many die before then.”
Musk’s suggestion is a major break from the White House and Ukrainian government’s thoughts on what Ukraine should be willing to concede, with President Joe Biden saying Friday the U.S. will “always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders” and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting the country has no plans to relinquish any territory to Russia.
No comments:
Post a Comment