You have to respect a populace that can keep its sense of humor, even as a foreign army invades under completely false pretenses; and in the midst of fierce fighting, some hilarious interactions between Ukrainian citizens and Russian forces have emerged.

As RedState has reported, Putin’s advance has hit more than its share of roadblocks, including stretched supply lines and Russian forces being spread too thin along too many fronts. A microcosm of that happened when a Russian armored personnel carrier (some MT-LB variant?) ran out of fuel on the road to Kyiv.

A car with some Ukrainians pulled up, and this exchange commenced.

Ukrainian driver talks to the Russians who run out of fuel on their way to #Kyiv:
– Vehicle broke?
– No, waiting for diesel.
– I can tug you back to Russia!
– [Russians laugh]
– Do you know where are you going?
– No. What's in the news?
– #Ukraine wins. Your guys surrender pic.twitter.com/sfhkPNRntZ

— Russia Ukraine Updates (@itswpceo) February 26, 2022

I don’t necessarily have some profound analysis to offer here. I just thought this was too good not to share. Pride for one’s country is always a heart-warming thing to witness, and never more so than while that country is being illegally invaded. It takes courage to mock an enemy to their face, and there’s certainly a strong will among Ukrainians that isn’t going to be easily broken by Russian aggression.

That video also continues to make me wonder just how invested the Russian forces actually on the ground are in doing what it takes to conquer Ukraine. I’m not suggesting they’ll surrender and go home, but I am suggesting they may not be willing to wholesale slaughter civilians in an all-out attempt to take Kyiv. Firing cruise missiles from a control center hundreds of miles away is a different thing than asking a soldier to pull the trigger up close and personal.

Here’s another clip illustrating that tension on the ground.

"What the f.k are you doing here? I am Russian too, but I live in this state. You have your country, we have ours. Don't you have problems in your country to solve? Are you all rich there, as in the Emirates? You're just puppets"
Love this gradpa in Melitopol, Zaporizhia region https://t.co/r0VZDsxa4P

— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) February 26, 2022

To this point, Ukraine has put up a level of resistance few thought possible. Early estimates were 50,000 dead and an almost immediate collapse of the Eastern European nation. Instead, they’ve fought valiantly, support is flowing in, and the Ukrainian people have expressed a desire to do whatever it takes to expel the invaders. They certainly have the resolve to make that attempt.