A heart-warming video of a Ukrainian helping a Russian soldier is going viral. In the short clip, one can see the young Russian soldier sipping tea and eating a snack as he tries to compose himself. A woman standing next to him is seen trying to connect a video call to his home.
Soon the call connects and the soldier breaks into tears. He looks too stunned to speak but he blows kisses to the camera, as people pat him on his back to calm him down.
In the translation provided by The U.S. Sun, a bystander can be heard saying in the video, “These young men, it’s not their fault. They don’t know why they are here. Another person joins him and says, “They are using old maps, they are lost.”
The 1:42-second video shared on Twitter by Christopher Miller, a BuzzFeed news correspondent, has been viewed over one million times and has gathered thousands of likes and retweets. In the caption, Miller mentioned the video was circulated on Telegram.
Remarkable video circulating on Telegram. Ukrainians gave a captured Russian soldier food and tea and called his mother to tell her he’s ok. He breaks down in tears. Compare the compassion shown here to Putin’s brutality. pic.twitter.com/KtbHad8XLm
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 2, 2022
the panicked look on his face as he aggressively drinks his tea and the moment where he breaks has such a weight.
he starts to cry and the woman goes to console and comfort him. he doesn’t want to be there, and he shouldn’t be there— Ні війні🇺🇦 (@chopstix694) March 2, 2022
young people fight and die because of rivalries and stupidities of old people who do not fight nor die, in a few months all presidents will be laughing and shaking hands for the camera while hundreds of mothers and family will be grieving their lost ones forever
— Jorge Angel Rdguez (@JorgeAngelRdgue) March 2, 2022
The humanity of the Ukrainian people is immense. The world could use far more people like them. Thank you for sharing this video. And that poor boy was apparently so thirsty and hungry unlike most of us just wanted to talk to his parents
— Lauren Robertson 🇺🇦 (@LLRobertson75) March 2, 2022
So beautiful to see these wonderful people have not lost their humanity. God bless them and the young soldier. 🙏
— ҡαƭɦε૨เɳε 🌻 (@katy_scarletta) March 2, 2022
The way he is chugging down that tea and food it seems like he hasn’t eaten in days.
— Milenaac (@milenaac) March 2, 2022
While many people seem to be touched by the kindness displayed by the Ukrainian citizens, some people pointed out that sharing videos of prisoners of war is against the norms of the Geneva Convention.
This is kindness. Its also improper to display POWs to the cameras. Its a Geneva Convention violation, even if well intended
— Daniel Golding 🇺🇦 (@dgolding) March 2, 2022
This is kindness, no doubt. It is also improper to display PoWs to the cameras. It´s a Geneva Convention violation, even if well intended. #GenevaConventions #UN #UnitedNations #HumanRights @UNHumanright
— Andreas Vogt 💉💉💉 (@andreas_vogt) March 2, 2022
There are many such videos, though unverified, being circulated online that show captured Russian soldiers being treated well by the civilians.
(1/3) More footage of Russian POWs, treated with more dignity and respect than Putin ever showed them. pic.twitter.com/bMFeTD6YUk
— UkraineEnglishUpdates (@EnglishUkraine) March 2, 2022
Earlier, videos of Ukrainians fighting the Russian invasion by moving landmines with bare hands or towing away military trucks with farming tractors have gone viral.