Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared his theory about how the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia might end. He opened up a Twitter poll, listed out the outcomes he thought possible, and asked his followers to vote on whether they agreed with him.
The tweet 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.
Also read: Elon Musk on Ukraine-Russia conflict: Ukrainian diplomats Andrij Melnyk, Mykhailo Podolyak react
“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.”
“This is highly likely to be the outcome in the end—just a question of how many die before then. Also worth noting that a possible, albeit unlikely, outcome from this conflict is nuclear war,” he added in subsequent tweets. 1,702,715 votes were cast at the time of writing this, with 63 percent voting no and 36 percent voting yes.
Also read: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky responds to Elon Musk Ukraine-Russia online poll
When he didn’t get the responses he desired, Musk launched a new poll. “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.” 1,273,934 votes were cast at the time of writing this, with 55% saying “yes” and 45% saying “no.”
Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, replied to Musk’s 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.”
Also read: Elon Musk on ‘Ukraine-Russia Peace’ and the possibility of a nuclear war
Podolyak replied asking, “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.”
In another tweet, the 50-year-old presidential adviser tweeted, “@elonmusk there is a better peace plan. 1. 🇺🇦 liberates its territories. Including the annexed Crimea. 2. 🇷🇺 undergoes demilitarization and mandatory denuclearization so it can no longer threaten others. 3. War criminals go through international tribunal. Let’s vote?” At the time of writing this, 94% of the 189,427 votes cast voted “yes” and 6% “no.”
Who is Mykhailo Podolyak?
Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak, a politician, journalist, and negotiator from Ukraine was born on 16 February 1972. He currently works as Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he was one of Ukraine’s representatives in the peace talks between the two countries.
Podolyak was raised in Novovolynsk and Lviv.
He moved to Belarus in 1989 and earned his medical degree there.
Also read: Who is Andrij Melnyk?
Podolyak served as the deputy editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Vremya in Belarus in 2004. In June 2004, KGB agents from Belarus visited him at home and gave him 30 minutes to gather his belongings.
The Belarusian government charged Podoliak with engaging in behaviour that “contravenes the interests of state security” and producing materials that “contain slanderous fabrications about the real situation in the country, calls to destabilise the political situation in Belarus.”
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Podolyak served as Ukrainska Hazeta’s editor-in-chief in 2005. His essay The Last Supper, which was published in the magazine in June, was about the 2004 poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko, who was running for president at the time. The content was an artistic presentation of journalistic research.
Podolyak started doing freelance work for the Ukrainian website Obozrevatel in 2006. At the same time, he started working as a consultant for Mykhailo Brodskyy, the chairman of the state committee for regulatory policy and entrepreneurship and the publication’s owner. Podoliak took over as editor-in-chief of Obozrevatel in December 2011.
Also read: Russia had 10 torture sites in Ukraine’s Izium, investigation finds
Podolyak joined the Office of the President of Ukraine in April 2020 as an “anti-crisis manager” and advisor to Andriy Yermak. He directs Volodymyr Zelensky’s advice and oversees the Office of the President’s complete information policy. Additionally, he gets Ukrainian government officials ready for media appearances so that their messages align with those of the president.
Focus magazine’s list of the top 100 Ukrainians with the most influence as of December 2020 put Podolyak in third place.
