In response to a Twitter poll by Tesla CEO Elon Musk earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky set up his own Twitter poll.
“Which @elonmusk do you like more?” the tweet asked, the two options being “One who supports Ukraine,” and “One who supports Russia.”
Within the first few minutes of the tweet, it received responses favouring the “One who supports Ukraine” option.
The initial tweet from Musk started with “Ukraine-Russia Peace” and had “redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people,” as one of the outcomes.
“Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake),” the tweet also noted, adding “water supply to Crimea assured,” and “Ukraine remains neutral.”
The Twitter poll did not sit right with Ukrainian diplomat and the country’s Ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, who said, “F**k off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk,” in response.
About an hour after this response, Musk set up another “Yes/No” Twitter poll stating, “Let’s try this then: the will of the people who live in the Donbas & Crimea should decide whether they’re part of Russia or Ukraine.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, replied to this second poll, saying, “Are you trying to legitimize pseudo-referendums that took place at gunpoint under conditions of persecution, mass executions and torture? Bad path.”
“No, I’m suggesting voting under UN (or pick your most trusted entity or country) supervision,” was Musk’s prompt response to Podolyak’s comment, following it with another tweet saying, “Maybe a similar approach to Kosovo.”
Podolyak replied with, “Will hundred thousand dead in Mariupol vote? Or those who went through concentration camps? @elonmusk you create rockets and dream of colonizing Mars. Russia creates mobile crematoria and dreams of Ukrainians disappearing as a nation. It is not a “voting” issue.”
Residents of the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, and Kherson—partially under Russian control—claim that the Russian occupiers compelled them to “vote” on the streets, at temporary polling locations, and during home visits.
What the West refers to as “sham referendums” on the regions’ membership in the Russian Federation began on September 23. Residents cited the arrival of armed Russian military servicemen along with the members of the alleged “election committees” as evidence that refusing to participate in the forced “vote” would endanger their lives.
Also read: Elon Musk on ‘Ukraine-Russia Peace’ and the possibility of a nuclear war
“The results are clear. Welcome home, to Russia! “Former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, stated on Telegram.
Authorities in eastern and southern Ukraine, which make up around 15% of the country’s territory, claim that the referendums were held over a five-day period with Russian assertion.
