President Volodymyr Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials debated on Twitter with US billionaire Elon Musk on Monday about the Russian invasion, with Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany going so far as to tell the SpaceX founder “to go and be seen”. The exchange began with Elon Musk’s proposal for peace between Kyiv and Moscow based on new UN-supervised referendums, handing over Crimea to Russia and a “neutral status” for Ukraine. The American billionaire left his Twitter followers the choice to vote “Yes” Where “Nope” to this proposal.
An “unlikely victory for Ukraine”, according to Musk
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded with another poll for his followers: “Which Elon Musk do you prefer, the one who supports Ukraine or the one who supports Russia?” The adviser to the presidency Mykhaïlo Podoliak proposed “a better peace plan” with the “liberation of its territories by Ukraine, including the annexed Crimea”a “demilitarization and denuclearization” of Russia and that “war criminals” be brought before international justice. “My very diplomatic response is to screw you,” launched for its part the Ukrainian ambassador in Germany Andriï Melnyk.
Elon Musk then argued that Russia could choose to lead a broader mobilization of its population for a “total war” which will lead to “a devastating death toll on both sides.” “A Ukrainian victory is unlikely in an all-out war. If you care about the Ukrainian people, seek peace”, he wrote. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who decreed a mobilization “partial” and threatened to resort to nuclear weapons in the face of recent Ukrainian military successes, called on Kyiv to “cease hostilities” and to “return to the negotiating table”. Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that kyiv will not negotiate with Moscow as long as Vladimir Putin is president.