Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited billionaire Elon Musk to visit his war-torn nation after the world's richest man earlier floated the idea of a peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
What Happened: Zelenskyy, speaking virtually at the New York Times Dealbook conference on Wednesday, thanked Musk for restoring Internet service in Ukraine after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.
"Life was maintained," the president said, thanking the deployment of Musk's Starlink satellite communications system.
However, he added that after some time, "Elon began to change his opinion, and we began to hear all kinds of appeals," pointing towards Musk's peace plan — for which the billionaire drew massive flak on social media, including from a Ukrainian diplomat who told him to "F**k off."
Zelenskyy, at the conference, invited Musk to see the damage caused by Putin's war in Ukraine. "I always say very openly if you want to understand what Russia has done here, come to Ukraine, and you will see this with your own eyes without any extra words," Zelenskyy said.
"And after that, you will tell us how to end this war, who started it and when we can end it."
In October, Musk polled his more than 107 million followers on Twitter to determine whether they agreed with his four thoughts about how Moscow and Kyiv would eventually come to a peace agreement.
His tweet drew a lot of anger, including from the president himself, who, in response to Musk's poll, created another poll and asked the billionaire if he supports Ukraine or Russia.
Musk then told Zelenskyy, "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."
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