Putin ally wishes Musk luck with Twitter, calls for him to end Starlink help to Ukraine

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev wished new Twitter owner Elon Musk luck on Friday for his acquisition of the company, adding a request for the multibillionaire to release his support for Ukraine.

“Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business,” wrote Medvedev.

Musk began providing Ukrainian troops and civilians with Starlink internet technologies directly after Russia invaded the country in late February.

The high-profile investor recently warned that he would withdraw free access to Starlink from Ukraine after the government denied funding for the technology, but later reversed his decision and continued to provide services.

Musk, CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX, officially acquired Twitter on Thursday after months of negotiations with the company over their $44 billion deal.

The now-owner of Twitter attempted to pull out of his deal with the social media giant in April, claiming that the company underestimates the number of anonymous accounts on its website, but recommitted himself to purchasing Twitter after it sued him this summer.

Musk has often weighed in on the Russo-Ukrainian war, urging Russians to pursue peace and Ukrainians to halt their pushback against Russian troops before they being reclaiming land that their larger neighbor has already annexed.

The tweets calling for Ukraine to sacrifice territory as part of a peace deal triggered an immediate blowback from officials in Kyiv, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky putting out his own Twitter poll that asked followers if they preferred a Musk who backs Russia or one who backed Ukraine.