Ukraine Faces A Possible Russia Invasion But It's Totally Winning The Meme War On Twitter

"We laugh in face of threats," @Ukraine says.

Global Staff Writer

Wars come in many shapes and forms, and Ukraine is definitely winning the meme war, despite having 100,000 troops lined up at its borders.

As Russia continues to hint at invading Ukraine and much of the world watches to see what will happen, the @Ukraine's official Twitter page has been busily roasting Russia on social media.

The posts include everything from basic memes to Simpsons quotes, and no, it's not a parody account.

"The truth is that humour has an enormous power," the mystery person (or people?) behind the account told The Washington Post through DMs on Twitter.

They added that a lot of the meme posts are driven by a very Ukrainian sense of humour — one that finds a way to laugh even in the face of invasion.

The two sides have been at odds for years, especially after Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine.

Still, the @Ukraine Twitter account has been fearlessly poking the Russia bear over and over, especially in recent months.

In December, for example, the account shared what it felt like to live next to Russia.

The meme showed a visual of the different types of headaches, demonstrating what part of the head is affected by a migraine, hypertension, stress and living next to Russia.

The meme was obviously about Russia's desire to annex Ukraine, and it ultimately provoked a response from the @Russia account on Twitter.

It shared its own version of the meme and suggested that @Ukraine is talking about a "red wine headache," before bringing up the Crimea issue.

"Choose your wines carefully, order from @Russia's Crimea," it tweeted.

@Ukraine often shares tourism photos but it's also continued to post memes amid tensions in the region.

One recent post used an image from The Simpsons with the caption, "Stop saying 'Ukraine Crisis.' There is no crisis. There is a bad neighbour."

Another was a direct jab at Russian President Vladimir Putin and a nod to Ukraine's desire to join NATO.

Meme wars are obviously a bit surreal when Ukrainians face the real-world risk of invasion and death, but the person or people behind @Ukraine say that's exactly why they're cracking jokes.

"Imagine a truly good person who's been [through] a lot in the past, managed to overcome hardships and developed this very special type of sassy and darkish humour as a byproduct," they said.

"This is what Ukraine is about."

  • Sameen Chaudhry (she/her) was a Toronto-based Staff Writer for Narcity's Global Desk. She has a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Toronto, where she majored in political science and philosophy. Before joining Narcity, she wrote for 6ixBuzzTV, covering topics like Toronto's music scene, local real estate stories, and breaking news.

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