Videos that have gone viral on social networks show Ukrainian women and men, as in Henichesk or Melitopol, in the south of the country, not hesitating to strongly challenge Russian soldiers whom they describe as “occupiers”.
The scene of just over a minute, shot on a mobile phone, is quite surreal. It happened on Thursday, in the port of Henichesk, on the shores of the Sea of Azov, in the oblast (region) of Kherson, in southern Ukraine. Armed Russian soldiers are posted in the middle of a square. A woman in a black anorak and a white cap approaches a soldier with great strides who is holding a machine gun and shouts at him with virulence: “But who are you ?” From a distance, the soldier replies: “We are in exercise.” “What kind of exercise? Are you Russians? replies the woman. “Yes”, replies the soldier.
The woman plants herself in front of the soldier, of whom she only films the legs. The soldier’s voice is calm, embarrassed. “This conversation will lead nowhere”he said. “You are occupiers, fascists”shouts the woman. “You have invaded our land. What the fuck is this? Why did you come with weapons? The soldier tries to interrupt him, still calmly, in vain. The person filming has moved away a bit.
“You invaded our land, do you understand?”
The woman, unstoppable in front of the soldier, who continues to shout at her. “Take these sunflower seeds, so when you drop dead they’ll grow on our soil.” The soldier replies: “Well, this conversation is going nowhere. Don’t make it harder.” He adds, almost imploringly: “Please.”
For a moment, the silence hangs. The woman resumes, in a calmer tone: “How could we make the situation more difficult?” The soldier insists: “Please don’t make the situation more difficult.”
The woman extends her hand to the soldiers standing behind her interlocutor. “Guys, take these sunflower seeds. I get it, take these seeds, you will die here with them…” In a pleading tone, the soldier again tries to interrupt him. But she warms up, and launches: “You invaded our land, you understand? You are occupiers!” “OK”, replies the soldier. “You are enemies!” “Yes”, said the soldier. “And from this moment on, you are cursed!” “Yes”, he always answers in an almost sheepish tone. The woman starts to walk away. The soldier, caught in an infernal loop, repeats: “Don’t make the situation more difficult.” “More difficult ?” she replies as she walks. “You are the bastards who arrived here uninvited!”
The “palyanitsa” trick
Another video circulating a lot this Saturday, that of a Ukrainian who approaches unidentifiable soldiers, asking them which side they are on. To encourage them to reveal themselves, he asks them to say the word “palyanitsa”, which only Ukrainian speakers can pronounce correctly.
Seeing that this is not the case, the individual realizes that they are Russians and then starts teasing them by brandishing the fact that they do not have the right to ban him from filming because of the Ukrainian constitution . The amateur cameraman thus records the presence of a tank, which is then broadcast on social networks. If we ignore the turn of events, this piece of bravery is shared by many Internet users to circulate this trick to recognize the Russian soldiers.
In Melitopol, a city in the south of the country on the shores of the Sea of Azov, another video shot in recent hours shows another Ukrainian civilian facing two Russian soldiers. “I am also Russianthrows the man to the two soldiers. But I live in this state. You live in yours. Don’t you have your own problems in your state? […] You are puppets. Shame on you !”
Update : at 1:54 p.m., with the addition of the “palyanitsa” video.