Russian Soldiers Filmed Fleeing Kherson Amid Ukrainian Counteroffensive – Then are Mocked on Social Media

A video ridiculing Russian soldiers fleeing Russian-held Kherson that was shared on the Defense of Ukraine Twitter handle, has gone viral on social media.

More than 900,000 people have so-far watched the 40-second video since it was posted on Wednesday, August 31. In the brief clip, Russian soldiers are offered the choice to leave Kherson Oblast in Ukraine or perish.

Kyiv has begun a counteroffensive to reclaim Ukrainian territories stolen by the Russian invaders. Ukraine reported on Wednesday that its armed forces had already killed more than 200 Russian soldiers.

The edited footage shows fleeing Russian troops being fired upon by missiles, fire, and snipers, with the 1932 song “Run Rabbit Run” playing throughout.

According to Operational Command South of Ukraine, “the situation in our operational area remains difficult, but is controlled by the defense forces.”

The Ukrainian government have claimed that the country’s military services eliminated 201 Russian soldiers and attacked six Russian ammunition depots, 12 Russian T-72 tanks, and a variety of other Russian military tools and armaments.

Wesleyan University’s Peter Rutland, a professor of Russian, East European, and Eurasian studies, told the press: “Retaking the occupied territory of the Kherson province on the west bank of the Dnieper would be a major psychological and political win for Kyiv.”

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These measures were "aimed at [ensuring] security in the areas adjacent to the threatened zones," said Poland’s Operational Command.

“The city of Kherson is the only provincial capital to have fallen into Russian hands. It would also make it much harder for the Russians to launch an offensive to take Odesa,” he continued, whilst also arguing, “However that would still leave a large swathe of Russian occupied territory on the east bank of the Dnieper, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.”

According to the Russian news agency TASS, five explosions occurred in Kherson on Tuesday and were most likely caused by active air defence systems. A pontoon that crossed the Dnipro, as well as twelve command posts in the Kherson region, were also reported as. having been destroyed by Operation Command South of the Ukrainian military.