It has been only a week since Russia started military operations in Ukraine but on Thursday morning, the hashtag #IStandWithPutin started trending, with Africans backing the Russian president.
But why was this hashtag trending and why were Africans throwing their weight behind it?
According to eagle-eyed tweeps, the trend was started by Russian bots, but soon others hopped on the trend, either supporting Putin or using the trend to slam the invasion.
This Man is the real heroe. Like and retweet if you agree#RussiaUkraine #IStandWithPutin pic.twitter.com/Uo4QgIQ02e
— A UARian (@Inamcoded) March 2, 2022
People need to know that the world does not revolve around USA 🇺🇸 alone; There are countries that you don’t mess with, and Russia 🇷🇺 is one of them.#IStandWithPutin #istandwithrussia
— SAINT SHAKESPEARE ⭕ (@Ssspeare) March 2, 2022
pic.twitter.com/UFsK9rEufY
This man must stop sacrificing the lives of his people to keep the West happy. The man must do the right thing... #IStandWithPutin pic.twitter.com/YSvRUi4yXb
— Baruti Sephelle (@dsephelle) March 3, 2022
Those living in Africa took to the social media platform to voice their thoughts on Putin.
Some Twitter users also added an excerpt of a speech by Nelson Mandela.
“If there is a country that has committed unspeakable atrocities in the world, it is the United States of America. They don’t care for human beings
“When Japan was retreating on all fronts, they decided to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and killed a lot of innocent people who are still suffering from the effects of the bombs. Those bombs were not aimed against the Japanese, they were aimed against the Soviet Union to say ”Look, this is the power that we have. If you dare oppose what we do, this is what is going to happen to you.
“Because they are so arrogant, they decided to kill innocent people in Japan, who are still suffering from that. Who are they now to pretend that they are policemen of the world?
South Africa and the whole African continent can survive without the west, now the question is can west survive without Africa? We need true leaders with balls like President Vladimir Putin. #IStandWithPutin pic.twitter.com/mdv6PPZsaN
— Andile Gogoda® (@AndileGogoda) March 3, 2022
Nelson Mandela was right United States of America is the greatest beneficiary of Ukraine Russia war Africans stands with President Putin #IStandWithPutin pic.twitter.com/DCQdauTfcV
— Mutugogi (@mutugogi) March 3, 2022
The African people stand with #Russia.#IStandWithPutin #istandwithrussia pic.twitter.com/npZNuBb6fe
— Idris M. Sanusi 🇳🇬🇪🇹 (@sanusi90064) March 2, 2022
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