After the video of an old Ukrainian lady known as "Babushka Z" (Grandma Victory) meeting with Ukrainian soldiers went viral, it became popular not only on Russian social media, but also on Russian state media. The video was also circulated on Chinese media and social media, where she was dubbed the "Ukrainian grandma dancing the red flag". An elderly Ukrainian woman waving a red Soviet flag during the Russian-Ukrainian war became an unexpected propaganda icon for the Kremlin.
BBC reporters tracked her down to find the truth behind the incident. Babushka means old woman or grandma in Russian, and Z refers to the symbol that the Russian army often painted on armored vehicles, representing the Russian military's military old picture restoration operations in Ukraine, and some media also called it a victory. When a BBC reporter approached her and showed her new name and photo, she was shocked to say that she had never seen any of these things. "I don't think they should give me that much honor," she said. "I'm just a peasant woman.
I don't understand why I'm a celebrity." The video shows her holding a red Soviet flag and walking towards two Ukrainian soldiers who had come to her village. Soldiers said they came to help the local population and gave her a bag of food. Then they took the flag off her, threw it on the ground and stepped on it. So the old woman felt insulted and immediately returned the food to the soldier. "My parents died for that flag in World War II," she said angrily.