Indians reacted angrily to a tweet from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence that featured a photo of Goddess Kali and labeled it "an assault on Hindu sentiments." The now-deleted tweet from the Ukrainian military ministry had the tagline "Work of art" and a picture of Goddess Kali placed over a blast of smoke.
When sharing the tweet from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, declared that "this is an assault on Hindu sentiments around the world."
Days after Ukraine's deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova visited India, Kanchan Gupta claimed the images revealed "the real face of the Ukrainian government." Since the war began in Kyiv in February 2022, she was the first senior Ukrainian official to travel to India.
In a way that no other foreign government or country has ever done, according to Gupta, Ukraine has ridiculed Goddess Kali. The Ukrainian ministry's activities were also referred to as "brazen hate speech" by him.
Netizens from all around the nation have also voiced their displeasure over the post, and many have criticized the ministry for insulting India after it requested assistance for its ongoing conflict with Russia.
"Absolutely despicable behavior by @DefenceU (Defence of Ukraine) with their repulsive representation making fun of Maa Kali. This is Ukraine's way of repaying India for its assistance. Hindus demand an apology immediately, according to a tweet.
A different user criticized the defense ministry's caption and said, "Shocking! Maa Kali is portrayed in a humiliating stance on the Defence Ministry of Ukraine's official Twitter account. This is not an artistic piece. Our faith is serious business. Remove it and apologize to @DefenceU.
Since February 2022, Ukraine and Russia have been at war. India has so far refrained from taking a side in the conflict and has instead advocated for dialogue to end the current issue.
