Canada, Ukraine, and Poland Are Having a Passionate Lovefest on Twitter

It started with the Ukrainian government’s shameless request for more Twitter followers. Whoever is running Kiev’s new social media account, @Ukraine, saw natural allies in Canada and Poland, the first two nations to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991.

Thanks, @Canada and @Poland for being first nations to recognize our Independence in 1991! How about becoming our first followers in 2016? — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) June 2, 2016

The Polish government followed Ukraine back, then noted the special nature of its relationship with a winky face Tweet, which was then retweeted by Ukraine, which thanked Warsaw’s social media manager in Polish.

Canada’s official account quickly responded to suggest some other countries Ukraine might want to connect with on Twitter.

Notably missing from their suggestion list? The United States. Ukraine didn’t seem to notice. Canada, where around a quarter of a million Ukrainians immigrated between 1951 and 1991, was the priority here. And on Thursday, Ukraine tweeted back a 2012 YouTube video of a Ukrainian man speaking to a herd of bison in rural Canada. “This is a Ukrainian speaking to bison in Alberta!” the narrator says. “There they are, eh?”

O @Canada! Merci and thx! Our countries have so many links, reaching even bisons in Alberta https://t.co/zhl4lyNVwQ https://t.co/0EHpQJvNgV — Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) June 2, 2016

It didn’t end there. Lithuania, at Canada’s request, joined the fun and also welcomed Ukraine to Twitter.

“Happy to meet you as well,” Ukraine tweeted back. “Let’s stay in touch here!”

Photo credit: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images