Russia slams Ukraine for Goddess Kali pic in Marilyn Monroe pose

New Delhi: Russia has slammed Ukraine for allegedly “mocking” Goddess Kali and insulting Hindus by depicting the goddess in Marilyn Monroe’s signature pose, while comparing the act to Nazism.

For the uninitiated, Ukraine’s defence ministry recently posted an image of Goddess Gali above a blast smoke, triggering online outrage and accusations of insensitivity towards Indian culture. The Twitter handle @DefenceU posted the image with the caption “Work of Art,” but it was quickly deleted following the backlash.

Dmitry Polyanskiy, the first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations, on Tuesday took to Twitter to criticize Ukraine’s actions, accusing the Kiev regime of not caring about any beliefs, whether they are Hindu, Muslim or Christian Orthodox.

“Kiev regime doesn’t care about any beliefs, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian Orthodox. Its soldiers burn Koran, mock Kali, destroy Orthodox sacred places. The only ideology they worship is Nazism – Nationalist slogan says Ukraine is above everything/über alles!” he tweeted.

Kiev regime doesn’t care about any beliefs, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian Orthodox. It’s soldiers burn Koran, mock Kali, destroy Orthodox sacred places. The only ideology they worship is Nazism – Nationalist slogan says Ukraine is above everything/über alles! #NoToNazism https://t.co/HS8xcemZZz

— Dmitry Polyanskiy 🇺🇳 (@Dpol_un) May 2, 2023

The controversy sparked outrage among Indian Twitter users, with many accusing the Ukrainian defense ministry of hurting the sentiments of Indians and demanded external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar’s intervention.

The tweet was also criticized as “Hinduphobic.”

In response, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova – who recently visited India seeking help in its war against Russia – expressed regret and stated that Ukraine “respects unique Indian culture and highly appreciates support from India.”

She added that Ukraine “regrets” the defence ministry’s depiction of Goddess Kali in a “distorted manner” and that the depiction had been removed.

Dzhaparova tweeted that Ukraine is determined to further increase cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect and friendship.

Ukrainian artist Maksym Palenko created the improvised picture that was tweeted by the defence ministry. In the picture, Palenko depicted the blast in a unique yet offensive blend of famous American actress Marilyn Monroe in her ‘flying skirt’ pose with the face and detailing resembling Hindu Goddess Kali who is considered the goddess of ultimate power.

Dzhaparova recently visited India, the first visit by a Ukrainian minister to India since the start of the Ukraine war in February last year. During her visit, she held talks with MoS (MEA) Meenakashi Lekhi.