Tag this story #nofilter – over the weekend, social media was atwitter over images purportedly showing a Russian BTR-80 armored personnel carrier being waved through a border checkpoint.
What makes this story more interesting than usual (as dozens of heavy vehicles from Russia have bled through the border in recent weeks) is that the photos were allegedly snapped by the brazen Russian customs agent waving it through – who also thought it a good idea to snap a selfie for good measure.
The Instagram account under the name Artem_Karat (which has now been deleted or deactivate) indicated in its geolocation to be at the Donetsk border post (Donetsk, Russia; adjacent to Luhansk region), and description eluded it to possibly being uploaded by a co-worker (“My job while I’m on vacation”). Hashtags or the images included (translated for convenience): #Customs, #Border, #Putin, #Luhansk, #RostovOblast, #War, and #RussianFederation.
This of course wouldn’t be the first time Russia’s hand in the invasion has been exposed in self-inflicted fashion over social media – months ago, several Russian insurgents were exposed via their VK accounts, providing a first glimpse into who and where many recruits were coming from.