New Delhi: Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to a fight, with the stakes being Ukraine.
"I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat," Elon Musk wrote on Twitter, mentioning the President's name in the Russian alphabet. "Stakes are Ukraine," Musk tweeted.
In a follow-up tweet, Elon Musk shared his entire tweet in Russian and tagged Kremlin's official Twitter handle with a message, "Do you agree to this fight?"
Earlier, Elon Musk had provided Ukraine with internet connectivity through the company's Starlink satellites, days after it was invaded by neighbouring Russia.
The decision came in response to a request from Ukraine's deputy prime minister to assist the country in maintaining internet connection in the face of the Russian invasion.
Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the world.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the web monitoring group NetBlocks has documented a series of substantial interruptions to internet connectivity in Ukraine.
Earlier last week, Musk had said, "Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. SpaceX reprioritized to cyber defence & overcoming signal jamming. Will cause slight delays in Starship & Starlink V2."
Musk, on the other hand, has claimed that Starlink will not restrict Russian media sources "unless under gunpoint."
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
After President Vladimir Putin sanctioned a "special military operation" to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine on February 24, Russia invaded its neighbouring country.
The UN has registered at least 596 civilian fatalities since the invasion, while it believes the exact toll is significantly higher.
Millions more have abandoned their homes, with over 2.8 million migrating into Poland and other neighbouring nations.