It began with Canada tweeting some not-so-friendly travel tips for the Russian military: a map showing Russia and labelling Ukraine as “not Russia.” That opening shot was enough to launch a Twitter war of words and maps.
Canada’s NATO Twitter account had posted the map on Wednesday with the explanation: “Geography can be tough. Here’s a guide for Russian soldiers who keep getting lost and ‘accidentally’ enter Ukraine.”
The tweet went viral, being retweeted more than 25,000 times by late Thursday, including by U.S. U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power.
Russia struck back by tweeting its own map showing Crimea as part of its territory. Russia had annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March.