Speculations about Russian soldiers deliberately dumping fuel from their military vehicles to avoid the ongoing war has surfaced on social media. The rumors started after a video showing Russian tanks running out of gas on its way to Kyiv went viral on social media.
Ukrainian Offers to Tow Enemy Tanks Back to Russia
The video, which clocked over 3 million views, shows an interaction between Russian soldiers and an Ukrainian civilian. It begins with a car approaching a motionless Russian tank standing on a road in a rural area. "Are you guys broken down?" the Ukrainian asks the soldiers. "Out of fuel," one Russian soldier says.
"Can I tow you back to Russia?" asks the passerby following which the Russian soldiers laugh back. On being asked if they knew where they are going, the Russian soldiers reply, "To Kyiv. What are they saying on the news?"
"Well, while everything is on our side, yours and prisoners surrender well. I have passed a whole column, no one knows where they are going," the Ukrainian responds. He then drives off and a few meters away another tank is seen stalled midway on the road.
The Independent reported that while the origin of the footage could not be confirmed, the stalled tanks appeared to be a Soviet amphibious MT-LB vehicle, and a T-72B3 Russian battle tank.
Social Media Reacts
Soon after the videos surfaced on multiple social media platforms, there was a speculation about the Russian soldiers deliberately taking out the fuel from their vehicles to avoid going into the war.
"there are reports of some of the Russian troops actually DUMPING their fuel so they can justify NOT advancing to engage the Ukrainian army. It might sound too propaganda but apparently, the column they lost under Kharkiv with 200 dead soldiers was a big blow to their morale," tweeted a user.
"Honestly the rumors that some Russian servicemen (most especially probably conscripts) are dumping fuel if and when they learn their target is Kiev, seems plausible. I doubt the vast majority of Russian soldiers sent for that mission are particularly stoked about the idea," read another tweet.
"Russian tank crews were found dumping the fuel from their tanks so they wouldn't be able to advance. Doesn't sound like the superior force," opined a user.
It's the safest way of not having to obey orders.
— @hknnyberg (@HknNyberg) February 27, 2022
I was told that Russian tank crews are dumping their fuel in order to get stuck far away from the front lines (or far away from Kyiv).
Puzzling, yes, but it would explain those very odd encounters with stuck/abandoned vehicles.
