A Twitter account for Russia’s Foreign Ministry outpost in Crimea has been verified by Twitter, sparking a complaint from several countries that object to anything that might legitimize Russia’s grip on the territory. For the last several years, Twitter has been grappling with perceptions of just what exactly the coveted “blue checkmark” means. In verifying a user, the debate goes, is Twitter then granting a form of legitimacy to the account? Or is the tech company merely informing users that the account is who it claims it is? The question is coming to a head for international diplomats in the form of the @PMSimferopol account, which is run by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The account, which bills itself as the official account for the MFA’s Representative Office in Simferopol, mostly tweets idyllic scenery and other cultural ephemera in an attempt to boost tourism to Crimea.

70 000 tourists have visited #Crimea🇷🇺during New Year's holidays, which is 42% more than the same period last year.🎄❄️🎅 #Russia #NewYear #Крым #Россия

But it also sneaks in trollish jabs at just who controls the territory, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Fewer than two dozen countries have expressed support for Moscow’s position, which claims that a referendum that year, which was not recognized internationally, showed that the people of Crimea had voted to join the Russian Federation.

Thank you @CNN for congratulations!👍 Crimea is Russia! Happy New Year!🎉 ➡️➡️➡️https://t.co/4kzV4AMCKo #Crimea #Russia #Simferopol #CNN #Happy2019 #Крым #Россия #Симферополь

The blue checkmark next to the account’s display name has become a major problem for former Eastern bloc countries trying to push back against Russia’s expansionism. “A wannabe account of an illegal occupant who pretends that it has any right to have a branch-office in an independent country?

Credibility much?” tweeted Jędrzej Tomczak, who, despite being a Polish diplomat assigned to NATO, is unverified on Twitter.

Dear @Twitter/@verified, why do you legitimize @PMSimferopol with a ✔️ sign? A wannabe account of an illegal occupant who pretends that it has any right to have a branch-office in an independent country? Credibility much? #CrimeaIsUkraine🇺🇦 @20committee @ericgarland @edwardlucas

On Thursday, Ukraine’s Embassy to the United Kingdom tweeted that it had sent an official complaint to Twitter about the Crimea account. “It’s absolutely unacceptable to give so called #Russia’s MFA in occupied #Crimea a blue tick!” the account wrote. “RU illegally annexed Crimea, militarized it & commits gross violations of human rights. Twitter must block that account!”



We have sent official complaint @TwitterSupport. It's absolutely unacceptable to give so called #Russia's MFA in occupied #Crimea a blue tick! RU illegally annexed Crimea, militarized it & commits gross violations of human rights. Twitter must block that account! #crimeaisukraine