- Videos on social media show Ukrainian citizens stopping Russian tanks by creating roadblocks.
- Others are seen trying to stop tanks with their bodyweight alone.
- Ukrainians en masse have joined the opposition to the Russian invasion in any way they can.
Ukrainian citizens are using passive resistance to confront the Russian invasion, kneeling in front of tanks and blocking roads.
A video on social media, shared by The Guardian sourced from the Ukrainian armed forces, shows a Ukrainian man trying to push a Russian tank away with his bodyweight alone in Bakhmach in northern Ukraine.
When he fails, he falls to his knees in a final bid to stop the tank.
A solitary senior confronted the invaders in Melitopol, southern Ukraine, occupied by Russian troops on Friday night. In a clip that went viral across social media, he asks, "What the fuck are you doing here?"
Another episode shows a Ukrainian man running into the road to try and obstruct a convoy of Russian armored vehicles.
—НВ (@tweetsNV) February 25, 2022
Other clips on social media show entire groups of civilians gathering in the path of Russian tanks and armored vehicles to block their advance. A video posted by the Ukrainian MP, Lesia Vasylenko, reprotedly shows scores of Ukrainians in Ichnya, Chernihiv, forming a moving human roadblock.
—Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) February 27, 2022
Ukrainian citizens have been a crucial part of fighting against the Russian military, with the Ukrainian Armed Forces tweeting on the first day of the invasion that "All those ready to take up arms, join the ranks of the area defense forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
According to The Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko, on Friday afternoon, 18,000 rifles had been given to civilian defense forces on the streets of Kyiv to arm them to fight.
Ukraine is also setting up an International Legion for foreigners to join the fight against Russia.
At his press briefing on Saturday morning, Zelensky said: "Every friend of Ukraine who wants to join Ukraine in defending the country, please come over. We will give you weapons. Everyone who is defending Ukraine is a hero."