Women in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv are receiving a flurry of requests from Russian soldiers on Tinder, according to a report in The Sun.
Dating apps suggest potential matches based one’s location. Many Russian soldiers have come into the range of Ukrainian users on the dating app after crossing into the neighbouring country at its border points.
Dasha Synelnikova, a 33-year-old woman living in Kyiv, said the profiles of multiple Russian soldiers popped up for her on Tinder after she set her location to Kharkiv, which is just 25 miles from the Russian border.
“I actually live in Kyiv but changed my location settings to Kharkiv after a friend told me there were Russian troops all over Tinder,” the woman was quoted as saying by The Sun. “And I couldn’t believe my eyes when they popped up trying to look tough and cool.”
Synelnikova told The Sun that the soldiers sported combat gear and wielded weapons in their dating profile photos. She said she rejected most of them but eventually struck up a conversation with one soldier.
The woman asked him if he was in Kharkiv. “Of course I am not in Kharkiv but I am close -- 80km,” the soldier responded.
He told the woman that he had visited Kharkiv in the past and liked the city so much that he wanted to buy property there.
“I was born in Belgorod and was an engineer before 2014 and visited Kharkiv quite a lot and loved it there so much I wanted to buy a flat,” the soldier said, according to The Sun. “I love travel to Asia, particularly Thailand. But now it’s a difficult time. I wanted to travel to Europe but getting a visa is difficult because no one likes Russia right now.”
Synelnikova said that to her, the solders seemed the same as anyone else on a dating app. “They want love or companionship,” she told The Sun.
