As Russian tanks roll in and bombs rain down, Ukrainians urge resistance on social media

As a Russian tank tries to accelerate, a Ukrainian man stands in its way.

The tank stops and the man drops to his knees in front of it. Then others rush forward, attempting to stop the tank with their bare hands.

Filmed in the town of Bakhmach, north-east of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the video is one of dozens posted to social media depicting acts of civilian courage in the face of the Russian invasion.

The moment has been compared by some to Tiananmen Square in 1989 - when an unidentified man stood in front of a procession of Chinese tanks deployed to quell pro-democracy protests - which has become a symbol of peaceful resistance.

Videos have shown Ukrainians appearing remarkably defiant, relaxed and even joking in the presence of hostile troops.

"We share jokes all the time," Anna Andrusyk told the ABC from her parents' basement in Kyiv, her children asleep by her side, as the city braced for another night of violence.

Humour remained "very" important, even as Kyiv and other cities endure bombardment by Russian artillery and cruise missiles, the tour guide and history teacher told the ABC by WhatsApp message.

"These are good emotions that we are desperate for."

This is perhaps unsurprising in a country led by a former comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, who has remained in Kyiv to face down threats of a Russian takeover.

"We have withstood and are successfully repelling enemy attacks," he said in a video message filmed in the streets of Kyiv.

"The fighting goes on."

Countless Ukrainians like Andrusyk are hunkered down in basements, bomb shelters and Kyiv's metro system, built deep underground by Ukraine's former Soviet rulers in anticipation of a US nuclear strike during the Cold War.

"Social media is the main source of all the information," said Sofia Hrabovetska, a Ukrainian stuck with her husband in Georgia, where they travelled for a holiday prior to the invasion.

"People can reach each other very quick, to share the information, to share videos, photos, social media, and like chats, like Telegram, everything helped us a lot," she said.

Another video shared on social media showed a Ukrainian civilian pulling over and speaking to Russian troops broken down on the side of the road.

He asked jokingly if they would like a lift home to Russia.

Adding to the spirit of mischief, the Ukrainian road administration called for the dismantling of road signs, so as to confuse Russian soldiers.

Some were removed altogether, while others were graffitied with taunts and insults.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry posted a meme of a street sign reading "go f*** yourself", a reference to the final words of defiant Ukrainian border guards killed by a Russian warship earlier this week.

The phrase has since been popularised on the Ukrainian internet, with Zelensky announcing the 13 border guards would posthumously be named Heroes of Ukraine.

The National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, meanwhile, has urged citizens to engage in "cocktail resistance", referring to makeshift firebombs known as Molotov cocktails.

"We are arming ourselves, preparing, destroying the occupiers!"

'Please keep an eye on us'

Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the country was "creating an IT army" to combat Russian cyber attacks.

Andrusyk is among those intending to stay in Kyiv despite the Russian threat.

"I still believe that my strength is to be in the place that I belong to," she said.

Hrabovetska said memes and jokes were helping keep Ukrainians' morale high as authorities call for civilians to be part of the resistance.

"Humour helps people a lot. Plus, people here are big fans of humour," she said.

"Usually humour helped us just not only to survive, but also to defend our [psychological wellbeing]."

"Please keep an eye on us and help us," Hrabovetska added.

"We will rebuild Ukraine, and we will be the new symbol of freedom."

The United Nations refugee agency says more than 150,000 Ukrainian refugees have already fled into neighbouring countries - around half of them into Poland.

The UN warns that as many as 5 million Ukrainians could become refugees as a result of the conflict.

Poland has established reception centres to welcome the refugees, while Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said: "We need to do everything to accept without delay the people who are now fleeing the bombs, the tanks."

-ABC