Six clips of Ukrainian heroism

It’s four days since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and there’s no sign of any surrender by those opposing Putin’s forces. By common consensus, the spirited fightback by both Ukrainian troops and their citizens has impressed and surprised many across Europe. 

It comes amid reports that the Kremlin has misjudged the extent to which Ukrainians are willing to fight and die for their country, as the west gears up to inflict massive financial sanctions on Russia. The revolution may not be televised but in 2022 conflict is being live-streamed on social media accounts. Below are six of the best examples of the ordinary men and women of Ukraine demonstrating resistance to the Putin invasion.

‘Sunflower seeds’

Perhaps the most viral incident thus far was a Ukrainian woman confronting armed Russian soldier and offering to ‘take these seeds so sunflowers grow here when you die.’ Calling the Russian invaders ‘occupants’ and ‘fascists’, the Ukrainian woman refused to be cowed by the soldier’s warning to ‘not escalate the situation’.

She replied: ‘How can it be further escalated? You fucking came here uninvited.’ The encounter took place in the port city of Henichesk along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson province of southern Ukraine. Sunflowers are of course Ukraine’s national flower.

There have been multiple cases of Ukrainians blocking the advance of Russian tanks. In this one a huge crowd of ordinary civilians mass along a road to block the path of a convoy in an example of reminiscent of Tiananmen Square’s ‘tank man’ blocking Chinese forces in 1989. This footage is said to have been filmed in Koryukivka, a town just miles from the border with Russia and shows dozens of locals walking calmly towards the armoured column.

One chain-smoking Ukrainian in Berdyansk spotted a mine on the road and didn’t wait around for a bomb disposal unit. At great risk to life and limb, he removed the mine, clearing the way for the Ukrainian military, all the while clutching his cigarette between his teeth.

A Ukrainian citizen confronted Russian soldiers after their armoured vehicle broke down on a country road in the Sumy region, close to the border with Russia. After spotting the hapless soldiers, the driver pulled alongside them, and asked: ‘Can I tow you back to Russia?’ The soldiers asked how Russia was doing in the war, the Ukrainian driver told them their country is losing and that they should go home.  Fifty tonne tank survivor

A Russian tank swerved to crush an unarmed civilian car in Kiev before reversing back over the vehicle and driver. The incident unfolded on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital as Vladimir Putin’s forces put the city under siege, with the tank – which weighs between 44 to 67 tonnes – seen swerving to purposely crush the car, before rolling back over it. Remarkably, the elderly driver survived the ordeal and was later freed by passers-by, only suffering minor injuries. 

 ‘I’m going to fuck Russians up’

One Ukrainian man interrupted an Israeli broadcaster, telling them to stop talking and declaring ‘we need to help Ukraine’, before vowing to take up arms against the Russian invaders as he waved around a bollard. Cue instant social media stardom.