The official Twitter account of the country of Ukraine shared a cartoon showing Adolf Hitler smiling down on Russian President Vladimir Putin. The cartoon was posted by the account today, 24 February, amidst Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The image was earlier posted without any caption this morning. The picture shows Hitler smiling down on Putin, with a proud look on his face. The cartoon reflects the history of the region during World War II, when German forces under Hitler invaded Ukraine and other parts of the then-Soviet Union in 1941. Through this image, Ukraine indicated that they were being invaded one again, this time by Moscow’s forces.
Hours later, Ukraine added a statement, saying that the cartoon was not a meme, “our and your reality right now.”
The photo went viral in a matter of hours and prompted various reactions on social media. Some individuals questioned the intent behind the post and stated that it was not the appropriate reaction to an invasion.
Several people felt that Ukraine’s official social media handle posting cartoons in the time of war was “unreal”.
Some users also commented that Ukraine’s viral tweet would go down in history books.
According to reports, Russia’s attack on Ukraine has led to Kyiv breaking diplomatic ties with Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the announcement about the breakdown in diplomatic ties today. This marks the first time that ties between the two countries have ruptured since they became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.
As the crisis escalates, at least eight people have been killed and nine wounded in Ukraine due to Russian shelling, as per a Reuters report.
The country has also claimed it has killed “around 50 Russian occupiers” while fighting back an attack from Russia-backed rebels in a border town. However, the reports cannot be independently verified at the moment.
European Union ambassadors are currently in an emergency meet regarding the escalating crisis. The EU plans to impose the “strongest, the harshest package” of sanctions on Moscow for invading Ukraine.
