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Let’s All Take A Moment To Appreciate @Ukraine
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By Sara Morrison
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UKRAINE

Let’s All Take A Moment To Appreciate @Ukraine

The country that tweets about Warhol, Russia, rainy days, and 'Game of Thrones'

UKRAINE
Who is the genius behind @Ukraine? Somebody in this photo? Maybe! — REUTERS
By Sara Morrison
Aug 12, 2016 at 4:20 PM ET

When @Ukraine came on the scene in June, it did so with a series of tweets essentially begging other countries to follow back. Since then, it has varied up its oeuvre, often weirdly.

For months, I’ve been trying to figure out who is behind @Ukraine—without success. The Twitter account doesn’t link to a website or list an email. @Ukraine has not responded to multiple tweeted requests for comment, though it does reply to other people who tweet at it, so obviously this is a deliberate attempt to avoid me. Its DMs are not open, so I cannot slide into them. The government’s website doesn’t mention the account and links to a different Twitter account, nor does the president’s site (though his and his administration’s accounts follow it). The fact that @Ukraine tweets in English makes me think it’s an outward-facing kind of thing, but I couldn’t find any mention of it on Ukraine’s tourism sites.

Yet the account is verified and has been since the day it launched, so there’s almost definitely someone official behind it. And that someone has a…unique…approach to social media. There are some really nice pictures of the Ukrainian countryside, usually with the hashtag #BeautifulUkraine, which are more along the lines of what you’d expect a country’s Twitter account to tweet. But there are also many tweets that are not about Ukraine at all, or seem like someone told someone who told someone who told the Mystery Tweeter what a cool brand’s social media account should look like, and he is trying his very best to make it happen. Also, he hates Russia.

So, on this slow Friday afternoon, I bring you @Ukraine.

Sucking up to other countries, sometimes with GIFs that are either mildly insulting or don’t really make sense:

Trolling Russia (which it refuses to follow back):

Sucking up to “Game of Thrones,” which it really wants to shoot there. This includes throwing Iceland (where winter scenes for the upcoming season are being filmed) under the bus by saying it has great cold winters, you know, just in case a certain show was looking for a better location. “Just sayin’!”:

Participating in “#sexy_monday”:

Also its #TGIF tweets, which sometimes mention the British band Muse:

Comparing a band that is nothing like Adele or Rihanna to Adele and Rihanna:


Remembering Andy Warhol, for some reason:

Getting emo:

???:

@Ukraine will surely have some great Olympic #content this weekend, so be sure to check it out for yourself.