Elon Musk & GOP Senator argue over Tesla CEO's recent Twitter poll on Ukraine referendum

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has again endorsed Russia's step to annex Ukrainian regions and argued some parts of the war-embattled nation have a majority and want to join the Moscow flank. He contested that the voice of people who lives in the war zone matters the most and added some eastern portions have Russian majorities and prefer the Russian administration. Notably, he was pointing fingers at the recently concluded elections in Ukraine's Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Luhansk, wherein Moscow claimed the residents voted to merge with Russia-- a claim that the world leaders termed as "shams".

"Assuming you believe that the will of the people matters, we should, in any given conflict region, support the will of those who live there. Most of Ukraine unequivocally wants to be part of Ukraine, but some eastern portions have Russian majorities and prefer Russia," Musk said on Twitter.

Lindsey Graham calls Musk's suggestions "dumb"

However, the critical remarks from the billionaire were criticised by several including Senator Lindsey Graham, who asked Musk to understand the real facts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Taking a dig at Musk's suggestions, Graham stressed it would be a "dumb" step to simply give Ukrainian parts to Moscow and added the move will affront the valour of the Ukrainian army which has been fighting to defend their homeland. The Senator also recalled the 1994 Budapest Memorandum wherein Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons arsenal in return for assurances that its territorial integrity would be protected.

"It was an agreement signed by Russia that included protecting Crimea and the Donbas as part of Ukraine. If you want peace in Ukraine — which we ALL do — simply demand Russian honour the boundaries they agreed to in 1994 and withdraw their forces," contested the senator.

"To do otherwise is to legitimize a bait and switch by Russia and a signal to other bad actors to take what you want - by force! If Elon Musk and others want the world to continue to be in chaos, then, by all means, capitulate to Putin and reward his aggression," he added.

However, Musk did not give much importance to the Senator's claims and shared a map exhibiting Ukranian support for Russia's annexation. He emphasised that not everyone wants to join the Russian side but added it is a fact that some of them voted in favour. "Obviously, not everyone who voted for the pro-Russia party wanted to join Russia, but it would also be inaccurate to say that none did," said Musk.

Musk's recent pro-Russia polls on Twitter draw severe backlash from Zelenskyy & Ukrainians

Notably, on Monday, Musk drew backlash from Ukrainian officials for pitching a series of controversial polls on the microblogging site. In a series of tweets, he suggested the referendum on merging four Ukrainian regions in Russia should be conducted again under the supervision of the United Nations. However, Musk's poll was heavily criticised by Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials. Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, also criticised Musk and wrote, "F**k off is my very diplomatic reply to you @elonmusk". Besides, several Ukrainian media outlets started polls in response to Musk's suggestions, wherein the respondents poured their support into the war-torn nation.

Image: AP