Servicemen of Eastern Corps, a special company of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, take ... [+]
One of the hottest dance songs of the summer was the collaborative single "Baby Don't Hurt Me" by French DJ David Guetta with British singer Anne-Marie and American rapper Coi Leray, which prominently sampled Haddaway's 1993 track "What is Love." Guetta's remix could have some unexpected competition of sorts—as another video featuring the original riff has recently gone viral this week.
In the short clip, a trio of Ukrainian soldiers, clad in Hawaiian shirts under their tactical gear, can be seen lip-synching to the Haddaway hit while paying homage to the film Night at the Roxbury. The film, which grew out of a one-note Saturday Night Live skit, has become so tied to the song that it is virtually impossible to separate the two.
Now, thanks to the new video—which features the soldiers bobbing their heads and mirroring the characters from the skit and movie—has been making the rounds on social media. It was shared by political commentator Mario Pawlowski to Twitter on Sunday, and "What is Love" could become another patriotic anthem for Kyiv's warfighters.
Songs Of Freedom!
It was just last year that another video of two young women serving in the Ukrainian Army went viral. In that clip, they were recorded singing the anti-fascist Italian partisan anthem "Bella ciao" while reportedly near the frontlines.
These and other videos of soldiers in non-combat situations certainly humanize the Ukrainian soldiers, and arguably Kyiv is winning the propaganda war as a result.
"It's awesome that in the middle of that 24/7 life and death environment, they can push their stress aside if only for a moment and have a little fun," explained technology entrepreneur Lon Safko, who has 14 inventions in the collection of The Computer Museum in Mountain View, California.
"The Hawaiian shirts add a perfect touch," said Safko of the recent video. "The only thing missing is a military-issued tropical drink."
Beyond The War Porn
Though both sides have continued to share almost daily the so-called "war porn" videos that chronicle actions from the frontlines, often accompanied by electronic dance or death metal music, Ukraine has also offered these light-hearted clips, while Russia largely has not.
"In a war, the side that is making progress is going to also benefit from higher morale, while the side giving ground is not," suggested technology industry analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group.
"The Ukrainians are also fighting on their home turf and largely voluntarily, the Russians have largely been conscripted and many have been poorly used—cannon fodder—with what should have been avoidable high death counts," said Enderle. "Russian military leaders tend to manage from the back as the U.S. did in Vietnam, not lead from the front as the U.S. and Ukrainians do today which makes a huge positive difference in terms of morale and motivation."
Soldier Songs
Throughout history, soldiers have always used song as a way to kill time and to lighten the mood. Bandsman often accompanied frontline units as a way of boosting morale as well.
In this case, instead of bombastic marches, it was a quasi-cheesy dance song that the soldiers were singing along with. At the same time, social media has also allowed the soldiers to share it in a way not previously possible.
"As one of the respondents to the video correctly stated, this is what freedom looks like," Enderle added. "The Ukrainians are both freer and more successful than their Russian opponents so it shouldn't come as a surprise that their morale is also far higher as represented by this video."
