Emine Dzhaparova, the deputy foreign minister of Ukraine who recently visited India,  today expressed "regrets" over the depiction of Goddess Kali in a "distorted manner" by the Defence Ministry and apologized for the act, saying her country and its people respect "unique Indian culture".

Ms. Dzhaparova visited India last month on April 9, the prime official visit from the eastern European country since the Russian invasion started in February last year.

she tweeted following a massive outrage among netizens over the incident: "We regret DefenceU depicting Hindu goddess Kali in a distorted manner. Ukraine and its people respect the unique Indian culture & highly appreciate India's support. The depiction has already been removed. Ukraine is decided to further increase cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect & friendship," 

The Ukraine Defence Ministry's tweet, which has later been deleted, was titled "Work of art" with an image of Goddess Kali superimposed over a blast fume. The image, which was posted on Twitter on April 30, sparked controversy on the social media site due to similarities between the image and Goddess Kali.

"Recently, the deputy foreign minister of Ukraine visited Delhi to request assistance from India." The Indian goddess Ma Kali has been caricatured on a propaganda poster, hiding the genuine face of the Ukrainian government behind such fakery. This is a direct attack on Hindu feeling worldwide. @UkrembInd," On April 30, Kanchan Gupta, senior advisor, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, shared a tweet from the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

She also said Ukraine has mocked "Goddess Kali in a manner no foreign government or country has ever done". She  also branded the Ukraine Ministry's actions as "brazen hate speech". Some Twitter users even requested the intervention of S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs.

Some Twitter users even sought EAM Dr, S. Jaishankar's intervention. "Absolutely despicable behaviour by @DefenceU (Defence of Ukraine) with their repulsive representation making fun of Maa Kali. This is Ukraine's way of repaying India for its assistance. Hindus demand an apology NOW, another Twitter user wrote.

"Shocking! Maa Kali is portrayed in a humiliating stance on the Defence Ministry of Ukraine's official Twitter account. This is not an artistic piece. Our faith is serious business. Another user tweeted, "Take it down and apologies @DefenceU.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky multiple times since the war in Ukraine erupted in February of last year.

On October 4 of the previous year, Modi told Zelenskyy over the phone that there is "no military solution" and that India is prepared to support any diplomatic initiatives. India has not yet balmed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and has maintained that the crisis must be settled through diplomacy and dialogue.

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