Front lines of humor: Dark humor voices Ukrainians’ hopes for victory

In 1991, a simple line appeared in Broom, a Lithuanian satire and humor journal. “A shortest joke: Communism,” it said. A one-liner to celebrate the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Four years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, a shortest joke could be told about Russia’s war in Ukraine: “Liberation.”

Since the Russian Federation began its “special military operation” to “liberate” Ukrainians on Feb. 24, 2022, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed, millions have fled their homes, cities have been destroyed, and water and land have been contaminated. But people in Ukraine still laugh. Laugh to overcome pain, express solidarity and resilience, and hope for the victory.

In the first two months of 2026, there have been over 200 attacks on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, damaging thermal and hydroelectric plants and causing prolonged electricity outages. Millions were left without power or with just a few hours of electricity. I asked my friend in Kyiv how she is holding up. She responded, “Organic matter survives better in cold.”

I have studied humor in authoritarian and democratic states for many years. I have been fascinated by humor’s power to overcome pain and liberate from absurdity and oppression. In Ukraine, war humor has mobilized people, expressed their resistance and helped them overcome daily hardships.

Dangerous jokes

Throughout history, satirists and cartoonists have faced punishment, prison and even executions. Lenin and Stalin, like Mao and Hitler, allowed no laughter at the expense of themselves or their regimes. The power of humor lies in its capacity to mobilize people for a common cause. It is a weapon of the powerful as well as the powerless.

In authoritarian states, official humor reinforces the state’s political ideology and is a propaganda tool. Soviet satire and humor journals, for example, ridiculed Western imperialism. They satirized various ills of Western societies – high crime rates, unemployment, homelessness, corruption and poverty – while presenting the Soviet Union as more advanced.

Since 2022, many comedians have left Russia, some under threat. Like in Soviet times, anti-regime jokes can be told in kitchens and among friends but cannot freely circulate. In state media comedy shows, jokes about Putin are told from time to time, but they are used to bolster his image as a powerful, cunning leader, and hold up Russia as a great country.

War humor

In democratic societies, people are generally free to laugh at what they want. Ukrainian humor circulates from grassroots social media to government offices, to business sites. Since 2022, Ukrainian social media has been flooded by jokes – producing the biggest virtual humor archive in the history of wars.

But war humor is different from humor in times of peace. It can be hateful, obscene, grotesque, vulgar and dark. It fulfills many functions, from defense mechanism and survival strategy to a form of escape.

When lights went off in the winter of 2026, Ukrainians joked that even without light, they can see that “Putin is a ‘khuylo’” – an obscene punch line. Some jokes noted that Ukrainians do not have electricity but have power; or that there is no electricity in Ukraine, but there is light – and there is no light in Russia.

War humor has also been a form of resistance and perseverance. After Putin’s nuclear threats in 2022, memes about an orgy on Kyiv’s Mount Shchekavitsa in the event of an “end of the world” began to spread online. People were invited to join in case they had unfulfilled sexual fantasies. Memes multiplied of a couple passionately kissing in the background of a nuclear mushroom cloud.

One young man, presumably one of 15,000 who signed up for the orgy on Telegram, told Radio Free Europe, “It’s an attempt to show that the more they try to scare us, the more we will transform it into something else.”

Similar groups popped up, including a group promoting an orgy on Odesa’s Derybasivska Street. The orgy idea led to other forms of civic activism, such as the Soloma Cats charity foundation organizing first-aid training on Mount Shchekavitsa.

Laughing toward victory

Humor also is a form of news and commentary. Some people learn about international events, policy decisions and even battle victories from jokes rather than the mainstream media.

At the beginning of the war, internet memes laughed at European leaders’ reluctance to supply arms to Ukraine. Billionaire Elon Musk was mocked in October 2022 after suggesting a plan for peace that would repeat elections in annexed regions, recognize Crimea as Russian territory and make Ukraine a neutral country. Even Pope Francis was laughed at for his March 2024 suggestion that Ukraine should wave “the white flag and negotiate” to save lives, which for Ukrainians meant surrendering their sovereignty.

During the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive in 2022, humor spread news of victories in Kherson, Bakhmut and other cities, laughing at Russian forces. Memes commonly portrayed Russian soldiers as incompetent, indoctrinated, or as zombies. Comparisons to Orcs in “The Lord of the Rings” were prominent, with one meme suggesting, “Stop calling Orcs Russians, it’s offensive toward Orcs.”

In response to reports of Russian soldiers stealing loot to sell in Belarussian open markets, Ukrainians created a meme of reselling captured Russian tanks at a “farmer’s market.” Another joke about Russian looting: “Did you take Kharkiv?” “No.” “Kyiv?” “No.” “What did you take?” “A washing machine, a mixer, and shoes …”

Some of the jokes provide commentary on global geopolitics, including Russia’s propaganda that it had been threatened by NATO. “Did you hear? It turns out Russia is at war with NATO,” one man asks. “How is it going for them?” asks another. “They already lost tens of thousands of soldiers and a ton of military equipment.” “And NATO?” “Oh, they have not arrived yet.”

In some ways, such jokes are a counteroffensive against Russian disinformation. In fact-checking, journalists fight propaganda with logical arguments, but propaganda targets emotions, identity and fears. Humor does not argue; it changes the context itself, subverting the message. And whereas fact-checking treats an opponent seriously, humor makes them ridiculous.

Ultimately, Ukrainians’ laughter communicates resistance, solidarity and dedication to victory. In one joke, a husband asks his wife why she bought seven bottles of wine. What about water and preserves, in case the war drags on? The woman responds: “I am getting ready to celebrate the victory!”

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Neringa Klumbytė, Miami University; Lithuanian Institute of History

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Neringa Klumbytė does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.