Social media users are applauding two Ukrainian men for trying to stop Russian armored vehicles from invading their country, with their acts of defiance being compared to that of the iconic Tiananmen Square Tank Man.
In one video, which was tweeted by Ukrainian news outlet HB on Friday, a man can be seen trying to stop a fleet of Russian armored vehicles on what appears to be a highway, Sky News reported. The man, filmed from a distance, briefly tries to climb onto the vehicles while Russian troops swerve to avoid him.
✊🏻Українець кидається під ворожу техніку, щоб окупанти не проїхали pic.twitter.com/cZ29kknqhB
— НВ (@tweetsNV) February 25, 2022
“Ukrainian rushes under enemy equipment so that the occupiers do not pass,” HB wrote in the video’s caption, as translated by Sky News.
Another video, taken in Bakhmach, Ukraine, also made rounds on social media, CNN reported. It shows a similar moment in which a man throws his body on top of a tank to prevent it from moving forward. The man then gets down on his knees in protest while onlookers attempt to bring him back to safety.
⚠️Warning ⚠️Heartbreaking inside ⚠️
A man stops a Russian convoy in Ukraine just make me think of China’s ‘tank man’ at Tiananmen Square in 1989#Ukraine #PutinHitler #PutinIsaWarCriminal #StandWithUkriane #StopRussia #TankMan pic.twitter.com/U42u0vWNA6
— 琴 (@iamqchinn) February 27, 2022
The two men’s acts of defiance went viral and were compared to that of the Tank Man, a lone unidentified protester who attempted to stop a phalanx of Chinese tanks from driving through Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989.
to Tank Man following the incident, but reports have suggested that he was either executed or sent to jail.
Here is what some people wrote about the two Ukrainian men on Twitter:
Ukraine’s tank man.
Pure courage. https://t.co/BAXpR9hhKa pic.twitter.com/7Rh3EPj35o
— kenneth sergienko 🏳️🌈🇺🇦🇺🇸🇨🇦 (@gayzillennial) February 25, 2022
Now this is #Ukrainian bravery. Said to be in the town of Bakhmach 150km N/E of #Kyiv – and just checked Google Earth and it is indeed Bakhmach nect to rail station. Ukrainian civilians are trying to stop Russian armour. Elderly man kneels down in front of a tank. #Ukraine. https://t.co/icZuaopAru
— Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) February 26, 2022
Remember #TankMan from June 5th 1989? Here another one for you. In Ukraine this time. #RussiaUkraineWar #OneManArmy pic.twitter.com/Xj8P1a56jl
— beyond_garde (@beyond_garde) February 25, 2022
(25 retweets, 63 likes)
#Ukraine #TiananmenSquare #TankMan
Where there is power, there is resistance.
Donde hay poder, hay resistencia
Video of Ukrainian ‘tank man’ trying to block Russian military convoy compared to tank man iconic photo of Tiananmen Square https://t.co/mLRpmBhPaC pic.twitter.com/wlltyu6CXS— Michael Lima Cuadra 🇨🇦🇨🇺🇺🇦 (@ngotranslations) February 26, 2022
(12 retweets, 15 likes)
Featured Image via Guardian News, typoprone (top left)