Ukraine Soldiers Heard Chanting 'Putin Is a D***head' As They March in Video

Video footage circulating on social media shows the Ukrainian army appearing to march through the streets of Kyiv in a rehearsal for an Independence Day parade, shouting "Putin is a d***head" in the video, referring to the Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A Ukrainian military officer, Anatoly Stefan Stirlitz, posted the videos on his Telegram account on Thursday. The Independence Day March in the Ukraine will take place on August 24.

"It's just bright! Glory to Ukraine!" he wrote in the post.

In the video, the soldiers appear to be chanting "Пу́тін—хуйло́," which translates to "Putin is a d***head."

Another social media post appears to show residents of Kyiv loudly cheering for the army as they march down Khreshchatyk street.

The phrase "Putin is a d***head" originated in the Ukraine in 2014 and was first sung by soccer fans. The chant was first performed by FC Metalist Kharkiv ultras and Shakhtar Donetsk ultras in March 2014 at the start of the Russian annexation of Crimea in Eastern Ukraine, according to Russian media reports. The phrase has since become popular among supporters of Ukrainian sovereignty.

A columnist from the Daily Beast said on Twitter that Russian news anchors were outraged by the chanting and experts on Russian state TV said that the Ukrainian army were worse than the Taliban.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed an uprising the same year that left Eastern Ukraine in the hands of Russian-backed separatists, in a conflict that the Ukrainian government has said has killed 14,000 people.

Tensions in the region flared in the spring when Russia brought troops and military hardware along the border, something it said was a military exercise. Although Russia partly pulled back those forces in April, in an interview with The Washington Post and four other media outlets published on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky cautioned that Moscow could easily build up its army presence in the Crimean Peninsula.

Zelensky is looking for Ukraine to become a NATO member, something he said would offer his country protection from a Russian invasion. The Trans-Atlantic alliance has a pact to defend any of its member countries that are attacked.

Asked about Ukraine getting NATO candidacy in June, President Joe Biden said that the country still needs to address corruption issues and meet other criteria first.

On Thursday, one of Russia's top security officials questioned Washington's commitment to Ukraine in light of its rushed exit from Afghanistan.

"But was the ousted pro-American regime in Kabul saved by the fact that Afghanistan had the status of a principal U.S. ally outside NATO? (No). A similar situation awaits supporters of the American choice in Ukraine," Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, told Izvestia newspaper.