As a propaganda image, this one is priceless.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had all the elements of a crushing blow, with Russia’s numerically superior forces massing on the countries’ border for months before the onslaught began.
However, in addition to the sympathies of any of the world’s governments and populations, the forces defending Ukraine received a boost when a viral video emerged last week that is said to show Ukrainians celebrating while taking a captured Russian tank for a joyride outside the city of Kharkiv.
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The U.K. Express translated the laughing men as making statements praising Ukraine and boasting of their accomplishment as they rode on top of the vehicle.
Reports described Russian military equipment left abandoned outside Ukrainian cities.
It’s said that truth is the first casualty in war, so all information coming out of the war zone has to be viewed with healthy skepticism.
Opposing sides use propaganda to inspire their own forces while disparaging the enemy. Accuracy is not the point; the manipulation of morale is the objective.
However, if the video is authentic, and really does show such a major weapon seized intact, it calls into question the wartime capabilities of Russia’s armored corps.
During the invasion of the smaller and weaker country of Ukraine, Russia’s military faces humiliation on the world stage.
Russia’s unexpected slow progress, logistical problems, and poor performance while facing stiff Ukrainian resistance are widely reported.
Before the invasion, Russia was rated to have a military second only the United States. Ukraine’s forces were ranked as the 22nd most powerful in the world.
The unfolding conflict could change those rankings.
According to ABC News, a Russian convoy stalled 15 miles outside the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. The 40-mile-long convoy of military troops and equipment faces difficulties with food, fuel, the terrain, and Ukrainian ground attacks.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, where the tank video originated, was still under brutal attack on Sunday, according to the U.K. Independent.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, the country’s bellicose leader, bragged for decades about his country’s military prowess. It would be a major setback for him if his troops were unprepared, incompetent, or even beaten by a much smaller enemy force.
In developments beyond the stalled convoy heading for the capital, the Russians on Wednesday captured Kherson, a port city on the Black Sea.
Fox News reported Thursday that Putin gave an address where he claimed the invasion is going according to plan.
Whether or not that claim is just his own form of propaganda remains to be seen.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
