Elon Musk has found himself wrapped up in yet another Twitter controversy after posting a peace proposal to settle the Ukranian conflict.
Trying his hand a bit of international diplomacy, the billionaire tweeted out four points that, he felt, would settle the issue to his 107 million followers.
First, he called for a redo of elections of ‘annexed regions’ under UN supervision before saying Russia leaves if it’s the will of the people.
Next up was the controversial topic of Crimea, with Musk suggesting it should formerly be part of Russia, despite Nikita Khrushchev’s decision in 1954 to ‘gift’ it to the Ukrainian people.
In 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from the state of Ukraine. The annexation came after months of protests led to their deposed pro-Russian president, Victor Yanukovych, fleeing to Russia. Yanukovych’s expulsion created unrest in east Ukraine, where pro-Russian sentiments were stronger.
Putin took advantage of the situation and declared that he would work on ‘returning Crimea to Russia’, since it was previously part of the Soviet Union.
Suggesting it be returned to Russia, therefore, did not go down well.
Lastly, Musk called for water supplies to Crimea to be assured while Ukraine itself remains neutral.
Ending his proposal with a yes/no survey, it wasn’t long before all hell broke loose.
Followers overwhelmingly rejected his ideas, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany told him to ‘Fuck off’ – and even Ukraine’s President Zelensky got involved.
Zelensky responsed with a poll of his own, to his far-fewer four million followers. He simply asked whether people preferred the pro-Russian Elon Musk or the pro-Ukrainian one.
Almost a million people responded, voting for one who supports Ukraine.
Perhaps reading the room a little better, Musk followed up with a clarification that he is ‘obviously’ pro Ukraine.
SpaceXâs 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.
Trying to retake Crimea will cause massive death, probably fail & risk nuclear war. This would be terrible for Ukraine & Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
The SpaceX boss has worked to help Ukraine in the past.
As the conflict intensified, he ordered his Starlink satellite service to be made available in the country.
Other methods of communication were quickly shut down by the invading Russians, but Starlink remained active.
Despite this, Musk’s ill-judged Twitter outburst will do little to help his reputation in the country as Ukraine continues to fight back.
Kyiv’s troops have been pushing further into Donetsk in recent days and weeks as it attempts to force the invading army back.
Efforts have focussed on retaking Lyman, a city held by Russia which serves as the main military bastion in the north of the semi-occupied region.
Ukrainian troops had the area surrounded and had all but trapped fighters stationed there when they were given permission to retreat.
MORE : Elon Musk’s private texts about buying Twitter have been revealed
MORE : Brit PoW thanks Elon Musk and Starlink for allowing him to call home before Russia capture
