While Ukraine’s allied forces are meeting Russia’s advancing troops in the on-ground and air battle, Ukrainian ministers as well as president Volodymyr Zelenskyy have opened a new front in the fight using technology to rally forces and international support in the country’s favour.
A man sporting a ribbon in Ukrainian flag colours uses a smartphone. AFP
While Ukraine’s allied forces are meeting Russia’s advancing troops in the on-ground and air battle, Ukrainian ministers as well as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have opened a new front in the fight by using technology to rally forces and international support.
Since the beginning of the armed conflict on 24 February when Russia launched a “special military operation” on Ukraine, Zelenskyy has kept the world updated about what was happening and to relay messages of strength to the Ukrainian people.
Let’s take a look at how the Ukrainian administration is fighting the battle on the digital front:
The continuous online presence of the Ukrainian president through social media and digital press conferences is in stark contrast with his Russian counterpart, who has mostly remained quiet or has appeared in pictures looking solemn.
Also read: Nothing funny about it: Braving Russian invasion, a president who was once a comedian
On 24 February Zelenskyy took to Twitter to inform the world about Russia’s “treacherous” attack and compared it to Nazi Germany in World War II.
The following days he continued tweeting about his conversations with allies and how they have extended support.
When Russian forces reached the outskirts of the capital city of Kyiv, Zelenskyy posted a video on Twitter.
“I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth. Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this,” the 44-year-old said in the video, news agency AFP reported.
After initial hesitation from the US and European Union in sending help towards defending Kyiv, it was a breakthrough moment on 26 February as Zelenskyy tweeted, “The anti-war coalition is working!”
Almost on an hourly basis, Zelenskyy has updated about the situation and addressed world leaders, thanked them for their support to Ukraine through his Twitter handle.
He also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for support to Ukrainian people.
Not just Zelenskyy but a member of his cabinet, minister of digital transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov, has also been actively engaged with people on social media.
According to a report by BBC, Ukraine’s youngest cabinet member has been waging a digital war against Russia from an underground shelter in a secret location in Kyiv.
On 26 February, as Russian assault disrupted internet services in parts of the country, Fedorov called out to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, asking him to provide Starlink stations to the nations.
Musk readily responded by activating Starlink service in Ukraine.
Also read: How does Elon Musk’s Starlink help Ukraine: All you need to know about it
Over the last 13 days since Russia invaded Ukraine, Fedorov has continued to mount pressure on multinational companies to boycott Russia. Many have responded in kind, including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, YouTube, Sony and Oracle.
Ukraine’s official Twitter account also upped its game after Russia launched an attack on the country by tweeting a caricature of Russian president Vladimir Putin with Hitler.
And when media outlets termed it as a ‘meme’, the people behind the Twitter handle had a ready response too.
The Twitter handle has continued to mock the Russian administration with its posts.
With inputs from agencies
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