WATCH Russian soldier cheer up evacuated grannies with promise of disco dance

A video circulating online shows a Russian soldier cheering up two elderly women as he evacuated them to safety from a part of Kursk Region affected by the Ukrainian incursion.

Thousands of residents fled the border areas of the Russian region when Kiev sent in thousands of troops this month in a bid to seize territory and reportedly to improve their negotiating position in future peace talks.

Some civilians have been unable to flee, including elderly and disabled people, who remain in settlements now under Ukrainian control.

The exact circumstances of the short clip, which was published online on Wednesday, remain somewhat unclear, with various sources identifying different parts of Kursk Region as the place where the evacuation took place.

The video shows two elderly women wearing military helmets and riding shotgun alongside a soldier in full tactical gear. He reassures them: “Don’t you worry, everything will be alright. We’re riding. Riding to the next village for a disco.” The last part was a quote from a Russian pop song, and the joke apparently raised the mood of the passengers, who appear to be aged in their 70s or 80s.

According to the news outlet MASH, the soldier in the clip is a minor celebrity known by his callsign Tikhy (“the quiet one” in Russian). He and his partner Siberia are both career military officers and were involved in another rescue in Kursk Region, which made waves on social media last week.

The older video showed them helping a man, who was reportedly a conscript serving as a border guard, whose position had been overwhelmed by Ukrainian forces. Unlike others, who were killed or captured, he managed to escape and hide in the woods until an evacuation was organized. He could be seen running for his life down a road as Tikhy and Siberia drove towards him for the pick up.

Any movement on roads in areas affected by the incursions is a risky endeavor, since vehicles can be targeted by Ukrainian kamikaze drones. In the newer video, Tikhy refers to them, telling the two women that “there are no birds in the sky for now.”

Officials and citizens have accused Ukrainian troops of deliberately targeting Russian civilians. This makes peace talks with Kiev no longer acceptable for Moscow, according to President Vladimir Putin.