Months after Russia annexed Crimea, Ukraine is still grappling with separatist forces trying to make off with bits of their dwindling territory. It’s a whole complicated thing. But a group of Ukrainian astronomers have found a way to hit back at the Kremlin in the simplest, most elegant way imaginable: naming a star “Putin-Huilo!” after President Vladimir Putin. If your Ukrainian’s a little rusty, it’s a handy phrase that means “Putin Is A Dickhead”. Or “Putin Is A Fucker”. Or “Putin Is An Asshole”. There’s some ambiguity there.
The star, formerly known as KIC 9696936, was adopted through the Adopt a Star program, which allows anyone to deliver devastating interstellar burns/adopt a star for $10. In recent months, “Huilo” (or “Khuilo”) has become a meme of sorts for referring to Putin. From The Wire:
“In June of this year, an Urban Dictionary entry formally defined khulio: “Khuilo is the president of Russia Vladimir Putin.” So, now a word which originally was slang for penis is synonymous with “terrible dictator.” Ukrainian rock bands started using it in their music, and even politicians picked it up. Ukrainian parliament member Oleh Lyashko was caught singing it, as was the minister of foreign affairs Andrii Deshchytsia.”
Ouch.
