“Don’t Mess with Ukrainian Farmers”: An examination of Ukraine and Kyiv’s official Twitter accounts as crisis communication, public diplomacy, and nation building during Russian invasion

Abstract

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 resulted in an armed conflict that led to the death of thousands of soldiers and innocent civilians. While the countries waged war on the ground in places like Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mariupol, another battle took shape in the Twittersphere. Ukraine and Kyiv’s official Twitter accounts leveraged their online platforms to win the war of public opinion by broadcasting the atrocities of war in real time, engaging with other countries as a form of digital public diplomacy, and rallying internal publics through nation building message strategies. The current study explores the use of government social media accounts during a unique period of armed conflict to identify various messaging strategies utilized to (1) communicate during a crisis event, (2) project itself favorably among an international audience, and (3) build a sense of national identity and unity among its citizenry. Results from this study suggest that public relations scholars should consider further analyzing the ways in which social media, nation building, and public diplomacy intersect during crisis events. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.