The Ministry of Foreign Affairs launches a social "flash mob" to lobby for the release

A similar message was posted on the ministry's Facebook page, and the two accounts switched to an image of Butina, her red hair blowing in the breeze. The accounts also urged the Russians to share messages under the hashtag #FreeMariaButina to express their support.

Butina was charged on Tuesday on charges that she acted unlawfully as an agent of the Russian government, attempting to infiltrate Republican circles. She "should be considered on an equal footing with other hidden Russian agents," prosecutors said. On Wednesday, she was sentenced to imprisonment pending trial.

Russia has maintained its position that the charges against Butina n & # They were unfounded. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a press conference Wednesday that the charges against Butina seemed "strange".

"As we know, Maria Butina has been a student in Washington for a long time, and she did not hide from anyone," Zakharova said. "As we understand it, the order comes from those who continue to fan Russophobic hysteria, for this purpose they regularly plant more fictitious sensations about the alleged interference of Russia in the domestic affairs of United States."

echoes the official position of the government. The English account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also posted a photo of Butina on his Twitter account

Soon, Russian diplomats joined the call for action.

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"One more Russian was arrested in the United States for no plausible reason," writes Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's first Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations United. "We demand his immediate release."

The Russian mission to the United Nations has also changed its profile picture.

Other Russians shared messages of support on the hashtag. But many Twitter users scoffed at the ministry's attempts to influence the conversation, hijacking the hashtag with snark. It has even been suggested that a White House employee whose only job at this time would be to prevent Donald Trump from joining Butina's campaign by trying to convince the US president to "not change his photo of profile for the #FreeMariaButina avatar ".

Zakharova criticized the United States for the timing of Butina's arrest and for the indictment of 12 Russians last week before the summit between Trump and US President Vladimir Putin.

It reaffirmed that Russia was taking measures

"For our part, we take all possible measures to protect the rights and legal interests of the Russian citizen," said Zakharova

. The Russian embbady in Washington said diplomats had visited Butina on Thursday. In a Facebook post, the Embbady reported that Butina was in a good mood.

"We told Maria that her case caused an uproar in Russia and that people sent her words of solidarity." "She asked her parents not to worry."

New York Times