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These memes often mock Russian hubris and incompetence, drawing upon news and online clips as fodder to attack Russian propaganda. One early meme taunted Russia after Ukrainians changed road signs to confuse the military convoys. The memes show a road sign indicating that the invaders should go straight and “go fuck yourself,” turn left to “go fuck yourself again” and head “to Russia to go fuck yourself.”

Another meme involved the young Ukrainian Border Guard at Snake Island, assailed by the Russian battleship the Moskva. The final words radioed to the enemy were: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” This phrase quickly became a meme, a shirt, and — just a few weeks later — a commemorative stamp issued by the Ukrainian post office.

The term “meme” was coined by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in 1976 to describe “a unit of cultural transmission or a unit of imitation.” Based on the Greek word mimeme, meaning something imitated, it was meant to parallel the biological concept of a gene — both the meme and the gene seek to replicate themselves and, if successful, are widely disseminated. They can also mutate, taking on new meanings as they evolve.

Memes came of age on social media platforms like Twitter, now X. They usually combine iconic images or short videos with pithy text to create humorous digital cultural creations circulated on social media. 

Much like the traditional editorial cartoons, they often offer social and political commentary on current events. Still, they are much more anarchic, as anyone can create and share memes, hoping they will go viral. They are also highly symbolic and often draw in disparate elements from history and current events.

In one Ukrainian meme highlighting karmic retribution, a soldier and a dog watch the sinking flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet as the dog comments: “This is for my doghouse” — a reference to a viral photo that showed a Russian tank loaded with a doghouse among other items pillaged from Ukrainian households. The meme satirically highlighted Russian looting and tied it to the sinking of the Russian warship.

Ukrainian meme crusaders aim to counter Russian propaganda that attempted to justify Russia’s invasion. These propaganda efforts include paid detractors in Russian troll factories, as well as Russian and foreign vatniks — jingoistic proponents of Russian propaganda parroting unquestioningly what is put forward by Russia’s political and military leaders.

Though it originally referred to the grey cotton-wool jackets that were issued to Soviet soldiers in the 1940s to 1960s, as well as gulag inmates, the modern-day vatnik has been depicted disparagingly by Russian artist Anton Chadsky as a patched-up hand with a black eye, a red nose and missing teeth. The image circulated widely on Russian social media and became prominent during the preliminary Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.

One of the most prominent and high-profile online communities of pro-Ukrainian keyboard warriors is the North Atlantic Fella Organisation (NAFO/OFAN), a social media movement dedicated to battling propaganda and disinformation about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

It floods the social media posts of Russian officials, propagandists and vatniks with memes, and NAFO “fellas” use avatars depicting Shiba Inu dogs in various dress and poses. The group has grown to tens of thousands of fellas with no set leadership, all of whom are guided by the catchphrase “see a fella, follow a fella.”

Memes like those created and circulated by NAFO also serve to insult Russia, presenting the nation as an outhouse, the army as inept and the Russian soldier as orcs, a fictional race of brutal and aggressive humanoids famously depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth.

In one meme, a cloven-hooved, crowned Vladimir Putin rides an outhouse tank spewing filth. Above him, the Russian word paRasha is written, which means a prison outhouse seat and is also used to signify nonsense, or simply bullshit. The “Rasha” is capitalized, playing on the Russian pronunciation of the English word Russia.

Ukraine-focused meme-making continues, with ones mocking US President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace plan for the country popular in recent weeks. In one, the plan is presented as a 28-component Trojan horse for Ukraine.

Ukrainians aren’t just focused on Russia — they also challenge Ukrainian leaders and officials. In one recent meme, a pair of Ukrainian state operatives note: “And (Steve) Witkoff’s tapes are much more interesting than Mindich’s tapes…”

This is a double-barrelled jab. It refers to the 1,000-plus hours of secret recordings that were made during the explosive investigation of Ukrainian-Israeli entrepreneur Tymur Mindich’s alleged $100-million Ukrainian energy sector kick-backs, and revelations that Wirkoff, Trump’s envoy in peace talks, was advising Russian officials.

Ongoing Ukrainian memes are a testament to Ukraine’s continuing resistance to Russia, even when outsiders like Trump tell them they “have no cards” to play and that they should capitulate to Russia. They are a powerful force in contemporary Ukrainian nationalism.

Ukrainian scholar Daria Antsybor, a folklorist and anthropologist, co-authored this article, which was first published in The Conversation. Views expressed in opinion pieces do not necessarily reflect the position of Novaya Gazeta Europe.