Russia has spent more than a year and hundreds of lives fighting to capture one small village in Ukraine. So why can’t it take Mala Tokmachka?

A video compilation of statements by pro-Kremlin pundit Boris Rozhin about the Russian military’s endless assault on the village of Mala Tokmachka in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region surfaced in mid-April and quickly became the most popular military meme so far in 2026. The village’s name had already appeared regularly in dispatches from Russian milbloggers as “nearly cleared” — week after week, month after month. As the meme evolved, it took on a range of meanings, becoming a commentary on the lie...