Netizens have been sharing their opinions on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since it began. While some have criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine ‘unprovoked,’ the hashtags ‘I stand with Russia’ and ‘I stand with Putin’ have been trending on Twitter as people appear to support Russia’s action.
The majority of the tweets emphasize that Russia and Putin are fighting the West, and that India and Africa should back one of its oldest allies, as the former has defense and diplomatic ties with Moscow. Others argued that Putin helped leverage Africans from the colonial oppressors and hence deserve their support.
Anti-Russian activists have slammed the hashtag, claiming that the Russian IT team is using bots to make it trend.
This happens even as the war enters its eighth day with over one million Ukrainians scampering for safety in the neighbourhood countries. Reports indicate that atleast one hundred homes have been destroyed with over nine thousand lives being lost in the process.
