Ukraine, on Tuesday, apologised for the contentious tweet purportedly showing an image of Goddess Kali over a blast fume. The latest development came nearly two days after a tweet posted by Ukraine's defence ministry sparked massive online outrage in India.
Although the tweet was deleted within hours, the Ukrainian minister, who had visited the national capital last month and sought India's support against the Russian war, said Kyiv and its people respect Indian culture.
"We regret @DefenceU depicting #Hindu goddess #Kali in a distorted manner. #Ukraine &its people respect unique #Indian culture&highly appreciate India's support. The depiction has already been removed. Ukraine is determined to further increase cooperation in spirit of mutual respect & friendship," tweeted Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emine Dzheppar.
Why this uproar?
On April 30, Ukraine’s Defence Ministry tweeted with the caption “Work of art,” and shared a picture of a blast with an improvised picture by Ukrainian artist Maksym Palenko.
In the picture, the artist depicted the blast in a unique yet offensive blend of famous American actress Marilyn Monroe in her ‘flying skirt’ pose with the face and detailing resembling Hindu Goddess ‘Maa Kali’.
However, the Defence Ministry of Ukraine later deleted the tweet after facing outrage.
Massive outrage in India
Despite deleting the tweet, the screenshot of the same went viral in India, resulting in a massive backlash.
One of the netizens tweeted, “Shocking! Official handle of Ukraine Defense Ministry is portraying Maa Kali in a demeaning pose. This is not a work of art. Our faith is not a matter of joke. Take it down and apologise @DefenceU”
Meanwhile, another Twitter user said, “Hurting sentiments of 1.4 billion Indians is not Okay @DefenceU. This is a blatant display of Hinduphobia by Ukraine’s defence ministry. Please remove this.”
Some Indian Twitter users even sought External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's intervention. "Please take note of this defamatory post that shows Maa Kali in a bad light, @MEAIndia @DrSJaishankar," tweeted one user.
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