Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI,OCT 4 :Tesla CEO Elon Musk had an ugly social media spat with Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, over his ideas on ending Russia’s invasion of the country.

Musk’s plan to have a UN-supervised referendum in the four occupied areas that Russia moved to annex last week drew massive condemnation on Twitter on Monday. The Tesla and SpaceX founder even created a poll, allowing his over 107 million followers to vote on the idea.

However, Musk’s initiative did not go down well with the Ukrainians, with their president countering his poll with one of his own: “Which @elonmusk do you like more?” The poll had two options: “One who supports Ukraine” and “One who supports Russia”.

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“F*** off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany Andriy Melnyk wrote on Musk’s poll.

 “There is a better peace plan. 1. Ukraine liberates its territories, including the annexed Crimea. 2. Russia undergoes demilitarization and mandatory denuclearization so it can no longer threaten others. 3. War criminals go through international tribunal. Let’s vote?” tweeted Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak in response.

Massive backlash later, Musk said that Moscow could announce a full mobilisation, leading to a “full war” where “death on both sides will be devastating” given Russia’s far larger population, reported news agency AFP.

“Victory for Ukraine is unlikely in total war. If you care about the people of Ukraine, seek peace,” he wrote on Twitter.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukraine to cease hostilities and negotiate after ordering a partial mobilisation to bolster his forces and threatening to use nuclear weapons. Zelensky has said he will never negotiate with Russia as long as Putin remains its leader, the agency further reported.

-The India Today