Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Melnik asked billionaire Elon Musk to “stop” after he suggested CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Ukraine would give up some territory and hold new elections in the disputed areas to end the war with Russia.
Ukraine-Russia Peace:
– Redo elections of annexed regions under UN supervision. Russia leaves if that is will of the people.
– Crimea formally part of Russia, as it has been since 1783 (until Khrushchev’s mistake).
– Water supply to Crimea assured.
– Ukraine remains neutral.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 3, 2022
Musk published a poll on Monday asking respondents to consider his proposal to end the war: re-run elections in the annexed region under UN supervision, cede Crimea to Russia, and keep Ukraine as a neutral country between Russia and the West.
“It is very likely that this will ultimately be the outcome, just a question of how many died before then,” Musk wrote. “It should also be noted that the possible, though improbable, outcome of this conflict is nuclear war.”
Melnick replied shortly afterwards: “Go away…that’s a very diplomatic response to you.” The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany until the end of September.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in July that he recalled Melnik at the end of September after the then-ambassador came into conflict with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other German leaders. Melnik accused the Germans of having close relations with Russia.
It is noteworthy that Musk introduced the Starlink satellite service as a way for Ukraine to increase its Internet connectivity.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “grateful” for Musk’s action.
Russia annexed four regions of eastern Ukraine last week in an election widely seen as a sham that Vladimir Putin celebrated over the weekend.
Russia also continues to control Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 after its invasion
Musk’s controversial foreign policy proposal came as Tesla shares fell 8% in trading on Monday, hitting a three-month low as the market reacted poorly.