Ukrainian calmly removes landmine from road with bare hands while smoking a cigarette

If you thought a gun-toting Clint Eastwood is the coolest a man has ever looked, let me introduce you to a Ukrainian who carried a land mine with his bare hands while taking drags on his lit cigarette. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has thrown the region into crisis but the people of Ukraine are not ones to roll over. Incredible stories of bravery from ordinary people of Ukraine have shown they are willing to fight for their sovereignty and independence. An unverified video shows a man gingerly carrying a potentially live landmine reportedly from the middle of the road into the woods so the Ukrainian military forces could pass. The video was posted online by @NewVoiceUkraine on Twitter and has gone viral, garnering more than 2.6 million views, and was shared more than 36k times.

"A Ukrainian in Berdyansk spotted a mine on the road and didn't wait around for a bomb disposal unit. At great risk to life and limb, he removed the mine, clearing the way for the Ukrainian military," read the tweet caption. The video shows people keeping a safe distance from the man as he carries out the landmine while still holding a lit cigarette in his mouth. A potential explosion could have killed the man and those in the vicinity. The person filming can be heard nervously laughing and maintaining a safe distance from the man carrying the landmine.

It's hard to verify videos when there is so much breakdown of daily order, and the comments reflected the same with many claiming the mine was found under a bridge rather than on the road. Some claimed it was found in a house while some claimed it was moved by the man to protect the common people as opposed to Ukrainian forces. While the context surrounding the video may be unclear, there's no doubt the person showed remarkable bravery attempting to move a landmine by hand. Not to mention you've got to be pretty badass to do it while taking drags on a lit cigarette. The video ends just before he actually disposes of the mine so there's actually no telling if he pulled it off. 

There have been countless examples of Ukrainian people standing up to Russian forces over the past few days. As we reported, a Ukrainian woman told off Russian soldiers who had invaded her country. She shouted at them and told them in no uncertain terms that they were unwelcome. She gave them a rollicking in the middle of the street in broad daylight before handing them sunflower seeds and told them, "You should put these sunflower seeds in your pockets so that they will grow on Ukrainian land after you die." Despite being alone, she confronted the troops and asked what they were doing there before reminding them that they had no right to be there. "Who are you?" she can be heard asking. "We have exercises here," one of the soldiers replied. "What kind of exercises? Are you Russian?" When the soldier confirms they are Russian, she asks them, "So what are you doing here? You're occupants, you're fascists! What the f*ck are you doing on our land with all these guns? Take these seeds and put them in your pockets, so at least sunflowers will grow when you all lie down here."

The soldier, who had made their way to Henichesk, a port city on the sea of Azov, seemed embarrassed and tried to calm her down but she wasn't having it. "Let's not escalate this situation," the soldier tells her and she replies, "What situation? Guys, guys. You came to my land. Do you understand? You are occupiers. You are enemies." "Let's not escalate the situation," the soldier says and she brutally replies, "How can it be further escalated? You f*cking came here uninvited. Pieces of sh*t."

Ukraine faces a crucial day with a 40-mile convoy of the Russian military closing in on Kyiv on Tuesday, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies. The Russian convoy is made up of armored vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and other logistical vehicles, reported CNN.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a developing story, and we’ll update as we learn more. Information is swiftly changing and Upworthy is committed to providing the most recent and verified updates in our articles and reportage. However, considering the frequency of developments, some of the information/data in this article may have changed since the time of publication