- Russia has welcomed Elon Musk's controversial Twitter poll that focused on the Ukraine war.
- Musk's poll, which suggested ways to end the war, appeared to parrot Kremlin talking points.
The Kremlin has praised Elon Musk for posting a controversial poll on Twitter that included ideas for ending the war in Ukraine, according to RIA News and other media reports.
Musk posted a Twitter poll on Monday, asking users to vote "yes" or "no" on a list of conditions, which he implied could create peace between Russia and Ukraine. The billionaire's poll infuriated Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as it seemed to parrot Russia's agenda.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a call it was "positive," however, that Musk was looking for ways to peacefully end the situation in Ukraine, per RIA.
Peskov said that unlike many professional diplomats, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO was seeking ways to find peace, RIA reported. According to Peskov, achieving peace was impossible if Russia's conditions weren't fulfilled, per the report.
One of the four conditions for peace that Musk suggested in his Twitter poll was to "redo elections" in regions annexed by Russia. Pro-Russian officials have been holding illegitimate referendums in occupied Ukrainian territories, as Insider previously reported. Leaders across the world have decried the referendums as a sham, underscoring that they effectively occurred at gunpoint.
RIA reported that Peskov said during the call that residents had already expressed their opinion and nothing else could be done. "But, I repeat once again, the fact itself is very positive," Peskov said, per RIA.
Later on Monday, Musk wrote in a separate tweet he was "obviously" pro-Ukraine, adding that SpaceX has spent $80 million on Starlink satellite internet in the country, while spending "$0" in Russia.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, tweeted, "Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you."
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy hit back at the billionaire with a Twitter poll of his own, asking users which Musk they like better: the one who supports Russia, or the one who supports Ukraine.
"I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world," Musk tweeted in response to Zelenskyy's poll.
Musk's tweets and Twitter poll echoed Russian talking points. Putin has repeatedly and falsely suggested that Ukraine is not a real country, portraying the sovereign country as territory that belongs to Russia. Though Ukraine and Russia share cultural and historical ties, Ukrainians have consistently shown they do not wish to be ruled over by Moscow. In 1991, Ukrainians across the country overwhelmingly voted in favor of becoming independent from the Soviet Union.
Ukraine's armed forces have put up a stiff resistance against Russia, and a Ukrainian counteroffensive has seen Russian forces lose ground in recent weeks — on top of the heavy casualties they've faced since the war began. Musk's poll essentially implied that Ukraine should consider giving up territory to Russia even as Ukrainian forces are pushing the Russian invaders into retreat, which would lock-in Russia's gains achieved by force. Ukraine's government has repeatedly said it would not agree to any peace deal that would require it to cede territory to Russia.
The Kremlin's press office didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.