Old photo of couple wearing flags of Russia and Ukraine has gone viral

After Russia launched a military assault on Ukraine on Thursday, a photo of a couple wearing the flags of two countries has gone viral on social media. The photo is being widely spread on social media and has even caught the attention of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

In the picture, a man is seen wearing Ukraine’s national flag embracing a woman draped in Russia’s national flag.

“Poignant: A man draped in the Ukrainian flag embraces a woman wearing the Russian flag. Let us hope love, peace & co-existence triumph over war & conflict,” the caption of Tharoor’s tweet read.

The photo is not a recent one. It was captured in 2019 when Juliana Kuznetsova and her fiance were attending a concert by Belarusan rapper Max Korzh in Warsaw, Poland.

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On Thursday morning, Russia started a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. According to Russian authorities, the military presence in Ukraine is on a “peacekeeping mission”.

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This attack, which came exactly seven years after the annexation of Crimea, is a reflection of the wider Russo-Ukrainian conflict. In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine.

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Meanwhile, hundreds of people were seen rallying in cities, including Moscow, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, chanting slogans like “No to war!” and holding up placards. Some also waved the Ukrainian flag.