Russia’s invasion of Ukraine does not seem to be going as well as President Vladimir Putin planned. For one, Ukraine’s citizens have turned out to be much more resilient than Putin could have hoped. But more surprising is the apparent lack of preparedness in the Russian troops.
This video being widely shared on social media shows a Russian tank stranded at the side of the road having run out of fuel. Its crew can do nothing but wait for fresh diesel to arrive. But the craziest thing about the clip is the exchange that follows between the Ukrainian civilian capturing the footage of the stricken tank and the Russian soldiers piloting it.
The Ukrainian driver bravely pulls alongside the tank, rolls down his window and asks “Are you guys broken? Broken down?”, to which the Russian soldiers reply that they are out of fuel.
Related: Tank Goes Out Of Its Way To Crush Civilian Car In Ukraine, Driver Miraculously Survives
A priceless exchange of a brave Ukrainian citizen with Russian army stuck out of fuel. ENGLISH SUBTITLES.
[Thanks to my Ukrainian friend for transcription and translation] pic.twitter.com/Rar3WRXEwD
— Ali 🇺🇦🕊 (@aliostad) February 26, 2022
“Can I tow you back to Russia?” the Ukrainian man jokingly offers, and both sides laugh. And that shared laugh between two human beings with no personal beef with each other whatsoever underlines the absurdity of both the immediate situation and of the wider conflict.
The Ukrainian asks if the Russians know where they are going, and they reply that they do not. So the Ukrainian helps them out by explaining that they’re meant to be heading for the country’s capital, Kyiv, and says they’re not alone in not knowing the objective. He’s apparently asked various other soldiers along the route and they weren’t aware of the objective either.
If true, it’s probably the first tank ever stolen by a farmer… ))
Ukrainians are tough cookies indeed. #StandWithUkraine #russiagohome pic.twitter.com/TY0sigffaM— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) February 27, 2022
President Putin will be less than delighted at how inept this footage makes his army appear, but it’s not the only clip that will have him seeing red. Another video shared to Twitter seems to show a Ukrainian farmer stealing another Russian tank by hooking it up to the back of his tractor.
World leaders have roundly condemned Russia’s actions and implemented a wave of sanctions to try to weaken the country, while sporting bodies have responded by cancelling and rescheduling events that were meant to take place in Russia. Formula 1, for one, announced last week that it was cancelling September’s Russian Grand Prix.
