Wolverines! Ukrainian Soldiers Tag Russian Tank with ‘Red Dawn’ Graffiti
Soldiers in Ukraine are adopting a rallying cry from the movie Red Dawn in their war against invading Russian troops, a picture from social media (featured below) shows. The incident even caught the attention of one of the stars of the movie, who tweeted about it.
The picture was taken by Oleg Tolmachev, an executive with Naftogaz, an oil and gas company in Ukraine. He posted the picture in response to a tweet by Scott Detrow, the White House correspondent for National Public Radio. Detrow had mentioned that he had passed a destroyed Russian tank on the side of a Ukrainian highway with the word “Wolverines” spray painted on it. He was unable to get a picture, but Tolmachev had passed the tank as well and was able to get a picture.
The graffiti, of course, is a reference to the 1984 film Red Dawn. In the film, a group of Colorado teenagers lead a guerilla war against an invading Russian and Cuban army. The teens (which included actors Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, and Jennifer Grey) would spray-paint the name of their school mascot, the Wolverine, at the scene of their attacks. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Red Dawn has become a pop-culture phenomenon, with many Ukrainians adopting the movies’ rallying cry of “Wolverines!”
Here’s the tweet featuring a picture of the Russian tank with the Red Dawn reference spray-painted on it.
This Isn’t The First Time
This isn’t the first time Russian tanks got the Red Dawn treatment. This tweet includes a picture of another instance where a defiant Ukrainian spray-painted “Wolverines” on a Russian military vehicle. The Ukrainian army, as well as a number of civilians who took up arms, have more than held their own against the superior invading Russian army. Despite many Russian atrocities against civilians, Ukraine has fought Russia to a standstill. In fact, the Ukrainian army fought them back in many areas of the country. Their ferocity has surprised not only Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the world as well, which has rallied behind them.
The incident even caught the attention of Red Dawn actress Lea Thompson, who tweeted about it.
H/T: Newsweek