[imagesource: Twitter / @munschausen]
We are now on day eight of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The onslaught continues, with Kherson becoming the first major city to fall under Russian control and explosions rocking the capital city of Kyiv overnight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin definitely underestimated the incredible resolve of the Ukrainian people and his troops on the ground are reportedly growing frustrated.
Official figures are hard to come by, with Ukraine and Russia putting out vastly different accounts of lives lost, but Putin does have a massive weapons stash (some of it nuclear) tucked up his sleeve as a final resort.
Even in the face of all this, Ukrainians are standing tall and their government is getting in potshots where it can.
The Guardian reports:
It’s not often that tax can lift people’s spirits but Ukrainian authorities may have done just that, assuring citizens that any Russian military equipment they seize won’t need to be declared for tax purposes.
“Have you captured a Russian tank or armoured personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the motherland!” Ukraine’s National Agency for the Protection against Corruption (NAPC) said…
The agency went on to explain there was “no need to declare the captured Russian tanks and other equipment, because the cost of this … does not exceed 100 living wages (UAH248,100) ($8,298).”
Here’s a snippet of that statement:
Ukraine’ Anti Corruption committee provides people with confidence. If you’d captured a Russian tank, you do not need to declare it as your income, despite of its high market value. I guess, the tax office sees it similar and does not impose taxes on the not-income. pic.twitter.com/TwZRtDrRnO
— Sergej Sumlenny (@sumlenny) March 3, 2022
The thinly-veiled jibe at Russian troops comes off the back of multiple videos of Ukrainians taking control of tanks.
Over the past few days, as the Pentagon reports that some Russian soldiers “deliberately punched holes” in their vehicles’ fuel tanks to make sure they did not reach the front line, scenes like these have played out:
Ukrainian civilians recover a Tor SAM system pic.twitter.com/Atrljj3zCq
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 2, 2022
Ukrainian folks riding on a captured Russian tank.#Ukraine pic.twitter.com/AnNtVgREau
— Münschausen (@munschausen) March 2, 2022
BRO SOME FARMER JUST STOLE A TANK IN UKRAINE LMAOOOOOOOOO😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/W3yJfFGcXd
— Old Row (@OldRowViral) February 27, 2022
This is unbelievable – people stealing Russian tanks 😂#Ukraine #Anonymous pic.twitter.com/s3726szWTP
— Anonymous Europe (@AnonEUforUKR) February 28, 2022
Last week, a TikTok user even put together a handy guide to driving a tank:
For anyone who wants to know how to drive a tank Ukraine has you covered via TikTok pic.twitter.com/I42PxvFe6E
— Olga Lautman 🇺🇦 (@OlgaNYC1211) February 28, 2022
We like to talk about South Africans developing an immense sense of humour to deal with Eskom, our corrupt government, and the like, but props to everyone in Ukraine who somehow manages a laugh in the middle of coming under attack from a vile dictator.
And still, they battle:
Still standing. And we will not fall. Ukraine will prevail 🇺🇦✊
— Ukraine / Україна (@Ukraine) March 2, 2022
You can follow live updates from Ukraine via CNN and the BBC.
[source:guardian]
