Brutal drone video coming out of Bakhmut shows a Russian tank driver attempting to peel himself out of the remains of a destroyed piece of armor as the tank burns behind him.

While it's easy to look at this video from the Ukrainian perspective and think Good, let him suffer, he's a Russian. it's important to remember that war involves human beings. Human beings who before this war were likely doing regular daily activities and who had absolutely no intentions of finding themselves trapped in the middle of a brutal and seemingly pointless battle over an empty field.

There's two words everyone watching the content on Funker530 need to keep in mind. They're words that are easy to forget and lose when you're in the middle of a war. Humanity and empathy.

Imagine the title of this video was different. For one second, just imagine that the title said (NSFW) American Tank Driver Attempts to Peel Himself out of Destroyed Tank. Or, substitute that word for whatever country it is you're from. Better still, imagine the title said Your Little Brother, or Your Son. If you can't do that, even for a split second, just because I told you it's a Russian trying to get himself out of the destroyed tank, then I question your cognitive reasoning skills and your ability to feel empathy for other human beings.

You see, while this video does indeed show a Russian peeling himself out of a tank, and it is true that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is unjustified, this kid probably didn't sign up to be in the driver's seat of that tank. More likely, he was conscripted and thrown into a training program to drive tanks because his test scores were high enough. Two years ago, this kid was probably sharing Counter-Strike lobbies with the Ukrainian Soldiers that are firing rockets at him in defense of their nation.

I can already read the comments. "Why doesn't he just go home?" Because that's not an option when the punishment for desertion is death. "Then he should just surrender." He's likely been told that Ukrainians are executing everyone who surrenders. "Why doesn't he help overthrow his own political leadership?" The answer is simple. If this kid were home, he'd likely be playing video games and swiping through Tinder looking for a date, not attempting to overthrow a violent regime that readily applies sodomy as a weapon against political protesters.

Neither side signed up for this war. They're fighting because they have to. One side is fighting because their country was wrongfully invaded. The other side is fighting because they were conscripted and conned into believing a lie that says Ukraine was a threat to the nation of Russia.

At the end of a war, no Soldiers win. They simply survive. If this kid survives this exact scenario, he'll carry this moment with him for the rest of his life. We live in a day and age where the rest of us can all watch the worst moment of his life unfold on the internet. Yet still, we allow political hacks to send young men and women to war to die violently in fields they don't recognize and global grandstanding they'll never understand or benefit from.

It was never this kid's responsibility to challenge the world order. It was our own lack of initiative and our own poor leadership as a society that put him in a field in the middle of nowhere Ukraine. Blaming or laughing at a Soldier who has found himself in a situation like this doesn't make you too much better than the people who propagate wars like this.

Have a nice day.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com