In an extremely weird turn of events, the drone operators in the Russian military recorded the unorthodox scene-a soldier who pedaled his bicycle well ahead, no less than one mile from the front line inside Ukraine, in front of an armored vehicle. This rather unimaginable scenario, with all faces expressing shock, reflected yet again how difficult Russian troop movements were inside Ukraine these days. A clip going online featured a bike leading the BMP, a class infantry fighting vehicle; comments also reflected how amazed they all looked.
One soldier can be heard exclaiming, “Fella on a bike is leading the BMP into [the] attack!” as they watch the slow-moving vehicle. Another operator warns the crew, “Go around the cyclist, you’re about to get f****d!” highlighting the precariousness of the situation. The group humorously dubbed the cyclist the “stormcyclist,” reflecting the absurdity of the moment.
The video was filmed in Russian-occupied Ukraine, where a number of regional military commands have reportedly issued policies prohibiting front-line regiments from using civilian vehicles in combat. The policy has forced troops to resort to bicycles, particularly after the war saw about 11,000 armoured vehicles destroyed. Most of those were never listed with military authorities, creating problems that ranged from reports of drunk driving by soldiers.
For this reason, some commands have implemented a ban on unregistered civilian vehicles; however, the use of bicycles is still ubiquitous. As one popular Russian military blog described it, “Everyone is on bicycles,” using them to transport everything from ammunition to attendees at meetings.
A common sight nowadays on the battlefield is that of a soldier cycling ahead of an armoured vehicle-a telling example of the peculiar nature of challenges the Russian forces face in this conflict.
