The Defence of Ukraine was recently involved in a major controversy after it posted an offensive cartoon showing Goddess Kali in the famous Marilyn Monroe pose and later deleted the tweet due to backlash received by the Indian community.
After major condemnation and heavy backlash by Indians, the Ukraine Defence Twitter deleted the tweet and issued an official statement, where the government said that they “regret” the depiction of Goddess Kali in the caricature and that they respect the support received by India.
As the controversy erupted, Ukraine Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova tweeted, “We regret @DefenceU depicting #Hindu goddess #Kali in distorted manner. #Ukraine &its people respect unique #Indian culture & highly appreciate support. The depiction has already been removed. is determined to further increase cooperation in spirit of mutual respect& friendship.”
Defence of Ukraine tweets offensive Goddess Kali caricature
On April 30, the official Twitter account of Defence of Ukraine tweeted an image of a bomb blast, and along with it a caricature which portrayed an offensive image of Goddess Kali. In the cartoon, Goddess Kali is shown in the famous pose of Marilyn Monroe, where her skirt is blowing in the wind.
After the image was posted, it triggered a massive backlash by the Indian community against the Ukrainian government, prompting the Defence of Ukraine to delete the tweet. There was outrage over showing Goddess Kali in the middle of a bomb blast and blending it with actress Marilyn Monroe.
Dzhaporava had recently visited India, the first visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since the start of the Ukraine war in February last year. During the visit, the Ukranian minister held talks with Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi.
(With ANI inputs)
