In Zaporizhzhia, a manicure advertisement sparked outrage due to its resemblance to a photo of a woman killed in Bucha
27 July 16:09
, a social media scandal erupted over a photo of a woman’s hands with brightly painted nails, covered in dirt. The photo from Zaporizhzhia sparked a wave of criticism due to its associations with the well-known photograph of the hand of Iryna Filkina —a woman killed by Russian troops in Bucha at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, writes "Komersant Ukrainian".
In early March 2022, Irina Filkina was shot by Russian soldiers while she was driving home. After Bucha was liberated, Reuters photographer Zohrat Bensemra took a photo of the deceased woman’s hand—with bright red nail polish—covered in dirt. The photograph became one of the symbols of Russian war crimes in Bucha and also helped the family identify the victim.
In July 2026, an advertisement for a manicure appeared on social media that, according to users, visually resembled this image. Iryna Filkina’s daughter reacted to the post. She noted that the photo reminded her of her mother’s death and expressed outrage at the content creators’ explanation, who called the idea an American trend.
“This post popped up for me as a reminder of my mom’s murder. I would have ignored it and not brought it up, because over the past 4.5 years I’ve come across people many times who have exploited this situation. But when, instead of admitting their screw-up and their desire to cash in on the hype, they describe it as an American trend,” wrote the daughter of the deceased.
The salon where the client received her manicure stated that it did not participate in creating the promotional post. The salon’s owner noted that the salon’s responsibility is limited to providing the service, and the client’s subsequent use of the results on their own social media is not controlled by the salon.
“My responsibility is to provide a high-quality service, ensure sterility and safety, offer professional service, and create a beautiful manicure. That is what I am accountable for to every client. How a person photographs or films their purchase after visiting the salon— hairstyle, makeup, or manicure after visiting the salon, what captions they add, what trends they follow, or what meaning they attach to their own content—is their personal decision,” she stated.
According to the salon owner, the establishment has absolutely no connection to the controversial image.
The post sparked a lively discussion on social media. Users noted that a photo of hands covered in dirt, in the context of a full-scale war, could evoke associations with the bodies of fallen Ukrainians and war crimes committed by Russian troops. Some commenters called such advertising a sign of a lack of empathy and an attempt to draw attention to the content. Others speculated that the creators might have been drawing inspiration from a photography trend popular abroad, where jewelry or manicures are photographed in sand or soil.
At the same time, Ukrainian users emphasized that using such a visual technique in the Ukrainian context of the war carries a different emotional connotation and serves as a reminder of the civilian casualties. Following a wave of criticism, the post was removed from the Zaporizhzhia salon’s official pages.
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