Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Elon Musk’s poll on whether Ukraine should cede territory to Russia on Monday by reversing the roles of the tech billionaire.
Zelensky tweeted his own pollasking Twitter users which Musk they prefer: “The one who supports Ukraine” or “The one who supports Russia”.
Musk’s Twitter poll captured widespread attention on Monday afternoon when the SpaceX and Tesla CEO asked users if they supported his peace proposal for war in Ukraine.
Musk’s proposal was to redo elections in the regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia, with the elections under the supervision of the United Nations, to have Ukraine cede the Crimean peninsula to Russia and that the Ukraine remains a neutral country between Russia and the West.
The poll prompted a response from Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Melnyk, who told the billionaire to “fuck off” shortly after the tweet was posted.
Musk dug in to defend his stance on Ukraine, tweet another poll asking users of the social media platform if “the will of the people of Donbass and Crimea should decide whether they are part of Russia or Ukraine”.
“Russia is doing a partial mobilization. They go to full war mobilization if Crimea is in danger. Death on both sides will be devastating,” Musk said in response a user’s critical comments on the new poll. “Russia has more than 3 times the population of Ukraine, so victory for Ukraine is unlikely in an all-out war. If you care about the Ukrainian people, seek peace.
Russia annexed four regions of eastern Ukraine last week in elections that the West widely condemned as a sham, and the country illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine in 2014.
Zelensky has vowed to reclaim all lands annexed during the war, which has been going on for months and has claimed mass casualties on both sides.
Musk appears to be changing his stance on Russia amid the dragging war. In March, the world’s richest man challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “single combat”.
Musk provided Starlink satellite services for Ukraine, helping boost the country’s internet connectivity as part of the war effort. Zelensky said he was “grateful” for the service.