Videos of Ukrainians blocking Russian tanks, trucks go viral

The videos purportedly show Ukrainians in different parts of the country trying to block Russian military convoys. PHOTOS: SCREENGRABS FROM YOUTUBE, LYLA_LILAS/TWITTER

Videos online purportedly showing Ukrainians in different parts of the country trying to block Russian military convoys have gone viral over the past week, with Internet users comparing them to the "tank man" who tried to stop Chinese tanks from advancing into Tiananmen Square in 1989.

One widely shared video, posted by Ukrainian news outlet HB, showed a man moving to stand in front of successive military vehicles as each one swerves to avoid him.

In the background of the 30-second clip, someone can be heard gasping as one of the trucks veers to the side of the road to get past him.

"Ukrainian rushes under enemy equipment so that the occupiers do not pass," HB tweeted alongside that video last Friday (Feb 25). It is unclear where in Ukraine it was filmed.

The clip sparked comparisons to the famous photo of a man standing down a line of four Chinese tanks in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, after the Chinese government cracked down on pro-democracy protests in 1989, The Guardian reported.

"Amazingly brave Ukrainian tries to stop a Russian military convoy by blocking the vehicles with his body just like the 'Tank Man' in Tiananmen Square," freelance journalist Henry Langston tweeted in response to HB's video.

The image of China's "tank man" went on to become a symbol of defiance in the face of authoritarianism.

Another viral clip from Ukraine showed people in the embattled northern city of Chernihiv kneeling on the street, unarmed, in front of Russian tanks pleading for them to stop progressing further into the city.

In the nearly-minute-long video, one man threw himself in front of one of the moving tanks, trying to grab on to the vehicle's cannon before it sped off.

A third video, posted by Tetova News portal, showed another group of villagers in a town in Chernihiv surrounding a Russian tank to prevent it from passing through.

Ukraine faced its fifth day of Russia's offensive against the country on Monday.

Blasts were heard in the capital Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv on Monday morning, Ukrainian officials said, while a residential building in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine was on fire after being struck by a missile.

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