Getting whiplash between "haha Russian invaders and bots get fucked!!!! Finland!!!! Wooooo Finland!!!!!!" and "ah, we take no pleasure in doing this, our hands are tied"
Maybe the professional communications and Mastodon bubble Linus has been posting in led him to believe everyone in the world hates Russians now and that would be really well received
You're not breaking the fourth wall, this is not a parasocial interaction either or whatever new term people get attached to, this is not "tapping the glass", this is just interacting online.