Watch: Ukrainian civilians use their bodies to block Russian tanks
Ukrainian citizens in the city of Bakhmach stood in front of advancing Russian tanks on Saturday, according to video verified by CNN.
Per CNN, "[i]n the video, tanks can be seen driving on roads in Bakhmach, which is just over 110 miles northeast of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv."
The video shows a man climbing onto a Russian tank as it drives down a city street. The tank stops, and the man climbs down and briefly kneels in front of it before standing up and moving out of the way.
According to CNN's translation, a voice can be heard saying, "They are throwing their bicycles underneath the Russian tanks," though no one can be seen doing so on the video. The voice also describes people "throwing themselves under the wheels." As the video ends, someone can be seen climbing back onto the tank.
Video of Ukrainians in the North-Eastern town of Bakhmach trying to stop tanks with their bodies. pic.twitter.com/obpmespTQr
— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) February 26, 2022
Ukraine's government has encouraged civilians to help defend their country, handing out assault rifles and urging citizens to assemble Molotov cocktails. The Russian Defense Ministry has condemned these actions, arguing that arming untrained civilians "will inevitably lead to accidents and casualties," per CNN.
The U.S. Defense Department believes that 50 percent of the approximately 200,000 troops Russia massed on Ukraine's border in the months leading up to the invasion are now fighting inside Ukraine, USA Today reported Saturday afternoon.
According to USA Today, Russian reconnaissance forces have entered Kyiv and engaged in street battles with Ukrainian troops, but the main force driving south from Belarus toward the capital city is still around 18 miles away.
Bakhmach is roughly 150 miles from Kyiv and located midway between the capital and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting of the war so far, according to CNBC.
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