Tesla founder Elon Musk challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to fight for Ukraine in the early hours of the morning on Twitter, which included memes of the invasion and references to Macbeth.
“I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat,” Musk tweeted on Monday, typing Putin’s name in Russian. “Stavka is Ukraine,” he added, writing the name of the country in Ukrainian.
Musk ended his challenge with a direct reference to the Kremlin.
Do you agree to this fight? he wrote, noting the Kremlin’s official Twitter account.
The bizarre challenge was part of a flurry of tweets by the 50-year-old Musk over the course of three hours, including Shakespeare’s oft-quoted line from Macbeth: “If you prick my thumbs, something evil comes here.”
In another tweet, he posted a meme of a character from the Netflix show Narcos sitting on a porch swing that reads: “Netflix is waiting for the end of the war to make a movie about a black guy from Ukraine who falls in love with a transgender Russian soldier.” ‘
After the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the South African billionaire tried to be a thorn in Putin’s side, even providing internet through his Starlink satellite service at the request of Ukrainian officials.
Elon Musk challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a fight over Ukraine on Twitter.
Putin, known for his love of judo, may have an advantage in hand-to-hand combat
“I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat,” Musk wrote on Monday, typing Putin’s name in Russian. “Betting on Ukraine,” he added, writing the country’s name in Ukrainian and tagging the Kremlin’s official account.
Earlier Monday, he also posted a cryptic message: “There is beauty in the biological substrate.”
Musk, who is worth an estimated $218.9 billion, ridiculed Russian officials earlier this month after the head of their space program brushed aside U.S. sanctions against Moscow for starting a full-scale war with Ukraine.
“In such a situation, we cannot supply the United States with the best rocket engines in the world. Let them fly on something else, on their brooms, I don’t know what,” said Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency, on state Russian television on March 3.
On the same day, Musk tweeted a link to the successful launch of SpaceX, followed by the words “American broomstick” and an American flag emoji.
The apparent challenge was part of the 50-year-old Musk’s flurry of tweets over the course of three hours.
Late last month, the tech giant responded to a plea from Ukraine’s vice prime minister, who asked the tycoon to help the struggling country with satellite internet access.
‘@elonmusk while you’re trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine! While your missiles are successfully landing from space, Russian missiles are attacking the civilian population of Ukraine! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and appeal to sane Russians to stand up,” Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Fedorov tweeted.
Russian bombing strikes have shut down the Internet in much of the country.
Local officials have a vested interest in keeping locals connected so their stories can be used to counter Russian propaganda and so they can talk about atrocities committed by Russian forces in Putin’s name.
On the same day, Musk answered the call and said that he would send Starlink receivers to the country.
“Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals on the way,” Musk tweeted hours after the extraordinary request.
Starlink is a space system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring Internet access to underserved areas of the world.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Mikhail Fedorov tweeted to Musk for help.
Ukrainian government official asked Musk to provide warring country with Starlink stations
Less than 11 hours later, Musk answered the call and said more terminals were on the way.
Musk assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a March 5 video call that SpaceX would send more Starlink satellite stations.
The president of the struggling nation took to Twitter to thank Musk for his support and invited the tech mogul to visit Ukraine once the war is over.
“I spoke to @elonmusk. I am grateful to him for supporting Ukraine in word and deed. Next week we will receive another batch of Starlink systems for destroyed cities, ”Zelensky wrote on the social network.
Musk, who said he was “looking forward to visiting Ukraine” when the war is over, sent a set of antennas to Ukraine earlier this month after Prime Minister Denys Shmygal expressed concern that Ukrainians could lose internet access if Russia will continue to attack the communication towers as it did with the explosion of the Kiev TV tower.
Ukraine continues to face bombardment from Russia in the ongoing invasion. Above: A man walks out of a destroyed apartment building after shelling in Kyiv on Monday.
Fears grow of US astronaut who could end up in space because of Russians: Moscow now threatens to leave 55-year-old father of two in orbit over US support for war-torn Ukraine
The family of an American astronaut who faced the Russians stuck in space last night warned: “Our son is not easily frightened.”
NASA’s Mark Vande Hey is due to return from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30.
But Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave the 55-year-old father of two in space — or even send a space station back to Earth — in retaliation for the U.S. backing Ukraine against a Russian invasion.
Last night, Mr Vande Hey’s mother, Mary, 77, told The Mail on Sunday: “This is a terrible threat. When I first heard this, I cried a lot. This is very disturbing. We just pray a lot.”
NASA’s Mark Vande Hey (far right) is due to return from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30.
Her son is scheduled to return to Russian-backed Kazakhstan after 355 days in orbit – the longest time a Western astronaut has spent in space – but Rogozin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, posted a video on Twitter threatening to leave Mr. Vande. Hei into space and separate the Russian segment of the ISS, which will send him spiraling down to Earth.
This happened in response to US President Joe Biden’s announcement of sanctions against Russia, which “will lead to the degradation of their aerospace industry, including their space program.”
Rogozin said: “Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS? If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the US or Europe?
In a correspondence with retired US astronaut Scott Kelly, Rogozin repeated his threat, writing: “Fuck off, you moron! Otherwise, the death of the ISS will be on your conscience.”
In new threats last night, Rogozin said “illegal” sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to fall over Western nations.
He said: “The population of other countries, especially those led by the “dogs of war”, should think about the cost of sanctions against Roskosmos.
Last night, in new threats, Rogozin (pictured) said that “illegal” sanctions could cause the 500-ton ISS to fall over Western countries.
Ms. Vande Hey, a retired teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota, pleaded for calm, adding: “It’s really a pity it was so politicized. This is a real shock. His wife Julie is very worried in Texas. It’s really hard for her right now.”
Recalling how she and her husband Tom joined their son in Kazakhstan in 2017 when he was launched to the ISS for his first six-month stay in space, Ms Vande Hey said: “It was great to see people from different countries. to work together. Mark has a great relationship with all the astronauts and cosmonauts.”
Vande Hei, 80, a retired head of information systems, added: “These threats come from just one person, and although it’s the head of the Russian space agency, everyone else in the space agency seems very accommodating.” Our son is not easy to scare.”
Elon Musk has offered to send his SpaceX rocket to rescue an American astronaut if the Russians abandon him. NASA said it was confident that Mr. Vande Hey would return as planned.