Tank filmed crushing elderly man in car near Ukraine capital: 'Sheer cruelty'

WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: Disturbing footage of a tank appearing to swerve before crushing a civilian car on the outskirts of Ukraine's capital has gone viral as Kyiv comes under assault by Russian forces.

Vision of the moment shows a tank barrelling down a road before suddenly swerving to run over a black sedan driving in the opposite direction.

In the video, people watching on can be heard gasping and screaming as one woman exclaims: "Oh my god".

For a long moment the tank sits atop the car before eventually rolling backward, revealing the crumpled vehicle beneath.

In between the horrified shrieks of onlookers, distant gunfire can be heard in the background.

Online, the tank driver's actions were described as "sheer cruelty". In a separate video of the incident filmed from a nearby apartment, people can be heard gasping in horror as the tank drives over the car.

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Amazingly, the driver managed to survive the apparent attack. In another video posted on social media, an elderly man can be seen being rescued from the wreckage.

Civilians worked to pry the man from the vehicle, who appeared dazed. The extent of his injuries remains unclear.

The video was reportedly filmed in the Obolon district, about eight kilometres form the city centre.

One witness, 58-year-old local resident Viktor Berbash told The Sun that he believed the tank driver did it for amusement.

"Two armoured vehicles were driving along the road, and the second of them deliberately drove into the oncoming lane," he said.

"It was not by chance, it was for fun, there was no need for this. And it just ran into this car. Stopped, reversed over it again and drove on."

According to some reports, the Russian tank is believed to be a Strela-10 — an anti-aircraft vehicle used by both the Russian and Ukrainian armies.

It is unclear who was driving the tank at the time, with some competing claims on social media that it wasn't Russian troops but rather a Ukrainian tank which lost control.

Men ordered to stay and fight as residents flee Ukraine

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have crossed into Poland, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia as Russian missiles pounded the capital Kyiv and men of fighting age were told to remain.

Many waited for hours in freezing conditions to leave Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion.

Iryna, 36, and her mother set out from Kyiv on Thursday with her two girls aged 2 and 4, before crossing into Ubla in Slovakia.

"We left my husband there, so he is still there supporting our government," she said on Friday (local time) at a hotel in the border town of Snina.

"We pray for Ukraine and I hope everything will be fine," she said.

In Poland, which has the region's largest Ukrainian community of about one million people, authorities said wait times to cross the border ranged from six-12 hours in some places.

At Medyka in the south of Poland, 85km from Lviv in western Ukraine, roads were packed with cars, police directing traffic and people hugging loved ones after they arrived on the Polish side.

Ukrainian rules restrict men aged 18-60, who could be conscripted, from crossing the border.

Marta Buach, 30, from Lviv, said her husband was not allowed to cross with her.

"In Lviv it is okay but in other cities it is really a catastrophe. Kyiv was shelled, other small cities were shelled, we were hearing bombing everywhere.

"I think it is only a matter of time for it to be as dangerous as other cities," she said.

United Nations aid agencies say the war could drive up to five million people to flee abroad.

They said fuel, cash and medical supplies were running low in parts of Ukraine.

Border authorities said 29,000 people had entered Poland from Ukraine on Thursday and about half had indicated they were fleeing the war.

In Romania, more than 10,000 Ukrainians had arrived on Thursday, and nearly 3000 in Slovakia.

with Reuters

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