On Wednesday, a Ukrainian commander in Mariupol made a direct appeal to Elon Musk, asking the world’s richest man to act on behalf of citizens trapped in the southern city by Russian soldiers.

The three-month-old conflict has wreaked havoc on the key port, where Ukrainians have held out in the Azovstal steelworks after weeks of bloodshed.

Serhiy Volyna, commander of the 36th Separate Marine Brigade, said he set up a Twitter account solely to communicate with Musk.

Volyna tweeted @ Musk, “People say you come from another planet to teach people to believe in the impossible.”

“Our worlds are close together, as I reside in an area where survival is practically impossible. Assist us in getting out of Azovstal and into a neutral nation. If not you, who else?”

He asked “every person on the planet Earth” to assist him get Musk’s message out.

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More than 1,000 Ukrainian forces, many of them injured, remained in the massive Azovstal factory earlier this week, hiding from the Russians who now control Mariupol in a maze of Soviet-era bunkers and tunnels.

Women, children, and the elderly have been evacuated from the besieged site as part of a United Nations and Red Cross humanitarian mission.

According to Twitter, which Musk is trying to buy for $44 billion, the situation in Ukraine has resulted in a surge in users who are utilising the social media service to gather news and support.

Musk, who has over 92 million followers on Twitter, has previously challenged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “single combat” over Ukraine.

Last month, the Tesla CEO, who was born in South Africa, reacted to a request for internet access from Ukraine by activating his Starlink satellite broadband service and shipping equipment to areas affected by Russian missile strikes.