Amid conflict, pic of couple embracing each other wearing Russia, Ukraine flag goes viral

Even as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has put the world on edge, an old photo of a man draped in Ukraine flag embracing a woman wearing a Russian flag has gone viral on social media.

Several social media users shared this photo with heartfelt messages calling for an end to the conflict.

Sharing the photo on Twitter, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor wrote, “Poignant: A man draped in the Ukrainian flag embraces a woman wearing the Russian flag. Let us hope love, peace and co-existence triumph over war and conflict.”

According to The Washington Post, the image in question is from a 2019 concert of Belarusian rapper Max Korzhheld in Poland. The couple — Juliana Kuznetsova, a Russian woman was attending the concert with her Ukrainian fiancé when they saw several flags strewn about and decided to hold each other while wearing them.

“We didn’t have any political intentions with this photograph,” she told Washington Post in 2019.