Fake David Attenborough Voice Narrates The ‘Natural’ Death Of A Russian Tank

A voice that is undoubtedly imitating that of the renowned broadcaster, biologist, and voice of BBC’s Planet Earth, Sir David Attenborough, jokingly explains how the Russian tank was put out to pasture. Using the migration paths of Pacific salmon as a point of comparison, the Attenborough-esque narration goes on to explain that Russian tanks migrate from “the abyss” of Russia to end their lives in peaceful Ukrainian farming fields. 

“Driven by an evolutionary desire to end their life somewhere better,” the video continues, “after reaching Ukraine, all species of Russian tank die.”

In both a jab at Russia and a nod to the recent efficacy of Ukrainian anti-tank operations, the satirical video uses its Attenborough-inspired omnipresence to regard the Russian invasion as the “2022 run,” continuing with the salmon-inspired theme. The voice goes on to explain that the migration was a “major event for predators,” those predators being Ukrainian special operations forces, TB2 Bayraktar drones, and local farmers on tractors.

This “migration” is, of course, in reference to the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine, which has been met with Ukrainian defensives that have proven to take quite the toll on Russian tanks. Now with the most diverse anti-tank missile arsenal on the globe following numerous donations and deliveries from allied countries, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have seen substantial success in destroying Russian armor.

Just last week it was reported that Russia had lost its most advanced operational tank while in Ukraine. Designated as the T-90M Proryv-3, or Breakthrough-3, the destruction of the Russian tank was confirmed following an announcement shared on Twitter by The Kyiv Independent’s defense reporter Illia Ponomarenko. This was considered to be quite the win for Ukrainian forces and another sign of incompetence of the Russian Army.

While it is unclear who originally created the video, it was shared on Twitter by Christian Borys. According to his Twitter bio, Borys was previously a reporter in Ukraine and now runs Saint Javelin, a non-governmental organization that collects profits from merchandise sales to then donate to the Help Us Help charity.

The Saint Javelin website explains that Help Us Help is a federally registered Canadian charitable organization focused on general humanitarian aid with a current target on Ukrainian support. This is one of many crowdfunded organizations that set out to purchase and deliver supplies and technologies that are in high demand in Ukraine.

An additional tweet posted by Tetyana Denford, a Ukrainian writer and translator, shared that she and an unnamed colleague who she identifies as a writer and producer collaborated on the project, eventually organizing the hilarious voiceover. When asked if she was the mastermind behind the video in her replies, she responded to a viewer by saying she asked a friend with contacts in TV and film to organize the production.

Borys’ tweet has garnered over 500,000 views since the date of posting, with Denford’s amassing an additional 25,000, and a flood of support and amusement populates the replies under both. 

The parody ends with "most species of tanks pop their turrets to celebrate the end of their lifecycle," a clear reference to Ukraine being littered with the turrets of Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks. This is directly linked to how the ammunition is stored inside the hull of those Soviet-era designs, which often produces this effect if an attack causes the rounds to cook off.

For the next parody, maybe Ukrainian creators could land a Steve Irwin impersonator to voice over a mini-documentary about an invasive seafaring species of Russian patrol boats.

Either way, it’s safe to say Ukrainian fighters have definitely put some Russian tanks on the endangered species list. 

Contact the author: Emma@thewarzone.com