Sometimes, no matter how bad things are, you just need to laugh.
And nobody seems to know the feeling quite so well at the moment than the country of Ukraine.
Amid mounting tensions between the country and Russia that have many across the world bracing for an invasion, Ukraine has taken things up a notch in a way that's either chillingly dystopian or wildly relatable (or maybe both?):
The country's official Twitter account shaded its aggressor with a gallows-humor sort of meme that has the internet gasping and guffawing.
See the meme below.
pic.twitter.com/bBtsdr7wmX
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) December 7, 2021
The meme takes a spin on a series of diagrams that identify types of headaches by labeling in red the region of the head where one feels pain. The final visual in the meme is just the entire head filled in completely red with the label "Living next to Russia."
To call Ukraine's situation with Russia a "headache" is of course a wild understatement (that's part of the joke, of course). Ukraine and Russia have been engaged in military conflict ever since Russia's illegal 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula, an area geographically crucial to Russian President Vladimir Putin's military dominance in the Black Sea region.
The specter of a Russian takeover of Ukraine itself has loomed ever since, and recent U.S. intelligence indicates Putin has recently stacked the border with munitions and some 90,000 troops, roughly half the estimated 175,000 he would need to invade Ukraine.
Based on this intelligence, both the E.U. and NATO say they suspect an invasion to be imminent--maybe as soon as January.
But given how long the conflicts have already dragged on, Ukrainians themselves are reportedly fairly blasé about this new chapter--so the cheeky gallows humor of the headache meme is right on-brand.
And on Twitter, people couldn't help but gape and laugh at the country's irreverence.
Omfg this is the official Ukrainian Twitter lmfao https://t.co/yT2DztD5ML
— Noah (@YoloHoldings) December 8, 2021
this tweet is actually real im crying https://t.co/98CnpyNDpH
— Writer (@terxme) December 8, 2021
1914: Gavrilo Princip murdered Archduke Franz Ferdinand, setting off a chain of events that…
1939: Adolf Hitler invaded Poland, setting off a chain of events that…
2021: The official Twitter handle of Ukraine posted a meme about Russia, setting off a chain of events that… https://t.co/5h999c0YYn
— Mihir Shah (@elmihiro) December 8, 2021
If this is not the greatest geo-political tweet of all time…. https://t.co/1hmUfFstmG
— Pangeran (@pangeransiahaan) December 8, 2021
Lmao imagine a country on the verge of possibly being invaded meme'ing on the opposition. Even if Ukraine ceases to exist, I'll remember the Country as a real one. pic.twitter.com/rweCZdMjrd
— Dillan Turner (@illegit_panda) December 7, 2021
who is ukraine's digital director https://t.co/Z8v6IvoYU0
— Sam Jeske (@Sam_Jeske) December 7, 2021
This is the future old man! pic.twitter.com/lhZOnQQlki
— Queranus 🐲🇦🇺🌹🍉 (@Queranus77) December 8, 2021
I’ve never seen a country post a meme lmao I love it
— MissMarissaBabyy OF In Bio 💕 (@missmarissabbyy) December 7, 2021
Twitter is a magical place where countries come to apply satire to impending war https://t.co/Z9HfJfBIWr
— Collin Schneider (@CollinSchneid) December 7, 2021
Even other countries with belligerent neighbors, like Taiwan and India, got in on the laughs.
As an Indian my answer is also the same pic.twitter.com/FC8Mm12WgJ
— Dr. honest (@NashediBabu) December 8, 2021
So there you have it: Someday, when your grandchildren ask how Ukraine became part of Russia again, you might be able to tell them, "Well you see, it all began with a joke about headaches."