A Vladimir Putin fan page on Instagram has been spammed with bizarre messages apparently from young women, calling him "daddy", "baby", and begging him not to start a war.
Tensions between Ukraine and Russia have been rising since Monday (February 21) when Putin officially recognised Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states.
The two areas in eastern Ukraine, collectively known as the Donbas region, have been controlled by pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels since 2014.
In response to the growing threat of war, people (or possibly bots) on the fan-run Instagram page @vladimir.putin_offical have been leaving very odd comments and demanding the aggression stops.
One user stated: "Hey baby let's not fight."
A second person gushed: "Vladdy daddy this isn’t u come on look at me this isn’t u."
"Hey daddy Putin I know you’re in a silly goofy mood but let’s not start WW3," commented a third user.
Another commented: "Hey Vladdy daddy let's not fight over silly thing."
Someone else bluntly said: "My first war kinda nervous."
The onslaught of messages, many of which contain the "pleading eyes" and "broken heart" emojis, began four weeks ago and it's not clear if they are trolling or legitimate.
Most of the profile pictures depict young women, but they are not from verified Instagram accounts.
A Meta Platforms spokesperson previously told Reuters they are not aware of Putin having any official presence on Facebook or Instagram.
This comes after a mysterious "Z" symbol appearing on Russian armored vehicles was explained by experts.
One claimed it meant "final preparations are complete" and that the symbol could be intended to distinguish Russian and Ukrainian military vehicles from the air to avoid friendly fire.
And a war journalist spotted a US "nuke sniffer" plane on a runway in the UK as fears of war with Russia rise.
The United States Air Force WC-135W Constant Phoenix landed at RAF Mildenhall on Tuesday evening (February 22) after completing a mission over the Baltic Sea, according to UK Defence Journal writer George Allison.
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