Billionaire, Elon Musk has shared a ‘peace plan’ for the Russia-Ukraine war to end. But his proposal was quickly met with backlash—including from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The world’s richest man and Tesla founder on Monday, October 3, suggested elections in the annexed regions under United Nations supervision. “Russia leaves if this is the will of the people,” he said.
He also said Crimea, the Ukranian city annexed by Russia in 2014 originally belonged to Russia until a ‘mistake’ by former Soviet Union premier, Nikita Khrushchev.
He called for the Crimea to formally become part of Russia. Then, he said Crimea’s water supply should be assured. And lastly, he argued, Ukraine should remain neutral rather than joining NATO.
Musk then shared a Twitter poll asking his followers to give their opinion on his suggestion. “Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake),”
He also opined that Ukraine should remain neutral and asked followers to reply with their recommendations in “yes and no”.
“This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end ‘ just a question of how many die before then,” Musk said. He added that the war could turn nuclear although it is unlikely.
Less than three hours after his first tweet, Zelensky responded to Musk with his own poll, mocking Musk’s plan. “Which @elonmusk do you like more?” Zelensky asked. The two choices? One who supports Ukraine, and one who supports Russia.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, also piled on Musk in atypical fashion for a diplomat. “F**k off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” he wrote. Melnyk later added that no Ukrainian would ever buy a Tesla, telling Musk “good luck.”
However, Times correspondent Christopher Miller replied to Musk’s tweet, referring to the Ukrainian Independence Referendum, when Ukrainians were asked to vote on the country’s independence.
In March, Elon Musk had publicly challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a “single combat” for Ukraine. Taking to Twitter, the SpaceX CEO wrote, “I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat”.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four regions- Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kheria and claimed “this is the will of millions of people.”
