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Ukraine releases video comparing Russian war to Die Hard : 'Yippee Ki-Yay'
This holiday season, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is thinking about one particular Christmas movie.
A video released by the government organization on social media Monday channels 1988's Die Hard, while pegging the country as the John McClane of the Russo-Ukrainian War and Russia the Hans Gruber.
"This holiday season, Ukraine celebrates the festive tale of how an arrogant terrorist's special military operation was thwarted by a scrappy underdog," reads a message in the video, featuring footage of McClane and Gruber actors Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman from the film.
Moviestore/Shutterstock, Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Bruce Willis in 'Die Hard' and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
"It was the perfect plan with nothing left to chance until it all went wrong," the message continues. "The war he never wanted is the one he can't afford to lose. This Christmas, the age-old story of David and Goliath hits close to home."
A tweet from the ministry accompanying the video adds, "An underdog who wins against the bad guys. This is the kind of story we all enjoy. Dedicated to all the die hards on the front line. Ukraine will win! Yippee Ki-Yay…!"
The video also promos Ukraine's HIMARS rocket launcher system (a.k.a. High Mobility Artillery Rocket System). It features an edited version of the Die Hard scene of a dead terrorist with the message "I now have a machine gun, Ho-Ho-Ho" scrawled on his sweater. The message in the Ukraine video reads, "Now I have a HIMARS, Ho-Ho-Ho."
An underdog who wins against the bad guys. This is the kind of story we all enjoy.
Dedicated to all the die hards on the front line.
Ukraine will win!
Yippee Ki-Yay…! pic.twitter.com/JaZzqlOZA7— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 26, 2022
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently returned home to Kyiv after visiting Washington, D.C., his first trip outside of the country since Russian leader Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine.
"This battle is not only for the territory, for this or another part of Europe," Zelensky said in his speech to the U.S. Congress. "The battle is not only for life, freedom, and security of Ukrainians or any other nation which Russia attempts to conquer. This struggle will define in what world our children and grandchildren will live, and then their children and grandchildren.
"It will define whether it will be a democracy of Ukrainians and for Americans — for all," he continued. "This battle cannot be frozen or postponed. It cannot be ignored, hoping that the ocean or something else will provide a protection. From the United States to China, from Europe to Latin America, and from Africa to Australia, the world is too interconnected and interdependent to allow someone to stay aside and, at the same time, to feel safe when such a battle continues."
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