Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images
One of the Ukrainian fighters hiding inside the steel plant besieged by Russian forces in the port of Mariupol has asked the billionaire from SpaceX, Elon Musk, to help evacuate them.
Many civilians were rescued from the Azovstal plant last week under an agreement with Russia, but no agreement has been reached with Moscow on the departure of hundreds of fighters, some of whom are wounded, after weeks of bombing.
“The people of @elonmusk say that you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible. Our planets are next to each other, since I live where it is almost impossible to survive, ”wrote the commander of the 36a. marine infantry brigade, Major Serhiy Volina Serhiy Volina on Twitter.
“ Help us get out of Azovstal to a mediating country. If not you, then who? Give me a hint.”
Musk, the richest man in the world, owns the rocket company SpaceX and the manufacturer of electric cars Tesla, and plans to buy Twitter. It was not immediately clear if Musk had seen Volina’s tweet.
Ukrainian authorities say there are about 1,000 fighters holding out in Azovstal’s many underground tunnels, hundreds of whom are seriously injured and in need of urgent evacuation. The plant is under heavy Russian fire.
In February, when Ukraine’s internet went down following Russia’s invasion, Musk responded to a tweet from a Ukrainian government official seeking help.
Musk said that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service was available in Ukraine and that SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country.
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