In July 2022, a burnt-out Russian tank sat in Lyudmila Nishenko’s garden in Velyka Dymerka, a village about 30 kilometres northeast of Kyiv. It had been there since the Russian advance on the capital earlier that year.
Rather than wait for someone to remove it, she poured soil into the turret and used it as a compost container. She planted flowers around the hull – what she called her “wartime landscape design.” When someone suggested it was time for the tank to go, she put her foot down: “Don’t take the tank away until autumn. Only after I dig up potatoes and cut cabbage.”
The photos went viral after Reuters picked them up and Ukraine’s General Staff shared them on Facebook, adding: “Ukrainians cannot be defeated. The tank turret is waiting to be taken away. But for now, the remains of a Russian tank make a good container for compost.”
A year later, the tank was still there – and the family planted around it again.
Note: Featured image has been recreated with AI for copyright reasons.