The 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was included in the Book of Records of Ukraine for its significant contribution to the defense of the Maly Tokmachka area. Behind this fact are more than 1500 days of resistance, Russian assaults, claims of “capture” of the village, destroyed streets, and a meme that turned a small point on the map into a symbol of military absurdity.
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Book of Records of Ukraine, Oleg Ivanenko, presented the command of the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade with a diploma certifying the national record and merely stating the fact for history.
“The real reward for our titans is every preserved meter of Ukrainian land.”
Where is Maly Tokmachka and why has it become important
Maly Tokmachka is a village in the Zaporizhzhia region, near Orikhiv, on one of the most tense sections of the southern front. On a regular map, it is a small point. In reality, it is one of those lines where the Russian plan to advance to Zaporizhzhia has been breaking for years.
North of Maly Tokmachka is Orikhiv. Further is the road to the regional center of Zaporizhzhia. To the south are Robotyne, Verbove, Novoprokopivka, Tokmak, and the direction to Melitopol. That is why this village turned out to be not just a settlement, but part of a large defense line on which the stability of the entire Orikhiv direction depends.
Before the full-scale war, Maly Tokmachka was an ordinary Ukrainian village. Several thousand people lived there. In its local history were a brick factory, correctional colony No. 88, agriculture, ancient burial mounds, and the ordinary life of a Zaporizhzhia village.
After February 24, 2022, this place became a front.
Russia quickly captured a significant part of the south of the Zaporizhzhia region, but Zaporizhzhia remained under Ukrainian control. The front line was established south of Orikhiv, and the Maly Tokmachka area became one of the key sections where Ukrainian military held the direction under constant shelling, assaults, aviation, and drone pressure.
How the defense began: from Russia’s first statements to 1500 days of resistance
The story of Maly Tokmachka is also important because Russia very early tried to record this village in its “victories.”
Already on March 5, 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian units had allegedly taken control of Maly Tokmachka and a number of other settlements.
But subsequent events showed that this statement did not turn into stable control. The village did not become a calm Russian rear. On the contrary, Maly Tokmachka entered a long history of frontline battles, constant attacks, and defense that continues for years.
For Ukraine, this was not an episode for one day. It was a positional struggle for a line that did not allow Russian troops to calmly advance to Orikhiv and further to Zaporizhzhia.
In 2023, the Maly Tokmachka area came into focus during Ukrainian actions on the southern direction. This section was associated with pressure towards the Russian defense line Robotyne — Verbove — Tokmak. But the southern front turned out to be one of the toughest: dense minefields, artillery, aviation, drones, pre-prepared Russian positions, and constant struggle for every meter.
Then the front again transitioned into an exhausting phase.
Russia tried to assault. Ukraine held. The village was being destroyed. The name Maly Tokmachka appeared again and again in reports, in military messages, in analyst discussions, in Russian propaganda statements, and in Ukrainian memes.
In May 2026, the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was included in the Book of Records of Ukraine for its significant contribution to holding the defense area and daily repelling enemy attacks in the Maly Tokmachka area. The head of the supervisory board of the Book of Records of Ukraine, Oleg Ivanenko, presented the brigade command with a diploma that recorded this fact for history.
But the military themselves formulated the main point more precisely than any ceremony: the real reward for Ukrainian defenders is every preserved meter of Ukrainian land.
Why the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade became part of this story
The 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine became one of the symbols of the defense of this area. But the story of Maly Tokmachka is broader than one unit. Different units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces fought and continue to fight in this direction.
That is why the Ukrainian message sounds not only gratitude to the 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade but also respect to all warriors, all units that held and continue to hold the lines in the Maly Tokmachka area.
For the Israeli audience, this logic is especially understandable. In Israel, they know that sometimes a small point on the map can become a big military factor. The line is important not by size, but by the fact that through it the enemy tries to open a path further.
NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers Maly Tokmachka in this context: as an example of how a small village became a place where the Russian military machine encountered not an “empty territory,” but organized defense, human resilience, and the price Ukraine pays for every meter of land.
Russia has already declared Maly Tokmachka “taken”
The main absurdity of this story is that Russia has repeatedly tried to present Maly Tokmachka as an already solved task.
The first official statement was made back in March 2022. Then the Russian Ministry of Defense spoke about “taking control” of Maly Tokmachka.
The second time at the official level, Russia declared the “liberation” of Maly Tokmachka on November 16, 2025. This message was spread by Russian state media. Then, in December 2025, the topic was effectively raised again at the level of a report by Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov to Putin.
But after all these “takings,” the village did not disappear from frontline reports. On the contrary, Russian sources continued to write about battles, Ukrainian military spoke about assault attempts, and analysts noted the complex situation, gray zones, and the lack of stable full control by Russia.
That is, Maly Tokmachka became a very inconvenient name for Russian propaganda.
It was already “taken.”
Then stormed again.
Then they talked about “advancement” again.
Then explained again why the fighting continues there.
This is where the meme was born.
Meme “Maly Tokmachka”: how a small village became a symbol of military absurdity
The meme about Maly Tokmachka is not just an internet joke. It is a phenomenon of military humor and black satire that arose from the gap between the scale of the village and the scale of Russian efforts.
On one side — a small village in the Zaporizhzhia region.
On the other — years of assaults, thousands of messages, armored vehicles, infantry, drones, artillery, aviation, constant Russian statements about “almost taken” and “already liberated.”
Thus, the ironic formula appeared: “Whoever owns Maly Tokmachka owns the world.”
This phrase is not about geography. It is about mocking Russia’s imperial rhetoric. Moscow talks about a “new world order,” “historical lands,” and a “battle of civilizations,” but on the ground, it cannot turn its statements about a small village into a stable result for years.
“History lesson”: how Maly Tokmachka was compared to great sieges
One of the most accurate memes about Maly Tokmachka is formatted as a “history lesson.” It lists famous sieges and attempts to capture cities, and then Maly Tokmachka is inserted into this row.
In the meme list, it looks like this:
Gibraltar, 1779–1783 — 1320 days.
Could not be taken.
Carthage, 149–146 BC — 1100 days.
Leningrad, 1941–1944 — 872 days.
Rome, 408–410 — 730 days.
Alexandria, 641–642 — 450 days.
La Rochelle, 1627–1628 — 427 days.
Stalingrad, 1942–1943 — 163 days.
Jerusalem, 70 AD — 150 days.
Constantinople, 1453 — 53 days.
And the final line:
Maly Tokmachka has been “taken” for 1500 days.
The meaning of this joke is clear without lengthy explanations. Great cities, empires, fortresses, world history — and next to them a small Ukrainian village in the Zaporizhzhia region, which the Russian army has been trying to “take” longer than many famous sieges of the past.
Of course, this is not an academic historical table. One cannot literally compare modern positional warfare with the siege of Carthage, the blockade of Leningrad, or the fall of Constantinople. Those were different eras, different armies, different technologies, different scales of losses, and different political consequences.
But the meme works precisely as satire.
It shows the absurdity: an army that came to Ukraine with a claim for a quick victory has been stuck for years at one small settlement, repeatedly declaring it “taken,” but again and again forced to return to the topic of battles for Maly Tokmachka.
The most painful part of this meme is the contrast. Gibraltar, Carthage, Rome, Jerusalem, and Constantinople went down in history as symbols of great sieges, imperial clashes, and turning points. Maly Tokmachka until 2022 was an ordinary Ukrainian village. But it was this ordinary village that became a point for the Russian army where victorious reports collided with the reality of Ukrainian defense.
Why this meme became so popular
Maly Tokmachka became a meme for several reasons.
Firstly, because of repetition. Russian propaganda channels and “military experts” regularly returned to the topic of the village: “fighting is ongoing,” “there is advancement,” “almost taken,” “liberated,” “consolidating,” “storming again.”
Secondly, because of the scale. If it were about a big city, the effect would be different. But when a huge army cannot close the story with a small village for years, it itself becomes a symbol of failure.
Thirdly, because of the Ukrainian ability to turn the terrible into satire. During the war, memes often become a way of psychological protection. People laugh not because what is happening is easy. They laugh because otherwise, it is difficult to endure the absurdity, pain, and constant tension.
This is how the meme about Chornobaivka once appeared. Now Maly Tokmachka has found itself in this same row.
Behind the jokes is a destroyed village and a real war
But it is important not to lose the main point: behind the meme is not a funny story.
Maly Tokmachka is almost destroyed by the war. Where there was once ordinary rural life, now for years there have been assaults, drones, artillery, aviation, and small infantry groups. Streets, houses, farm buildings, roads, fields — all this has become part of the front.
Therefore, the meme about Maly Tokmachka cannot be perceived as a light joke.
This is black humor that grew out of the reality of war.
The village became a symbol not because someone wanted a beautiful legend, but because the Russian army has indeed been trying for years to achieve a result in this direction. And Ukrainian military have been holding a line for years that turned out to be much more difficult for the enemy than another line in a report.
Why Maly Tokmachka is important for understanding the war
Maly Tokmachka shows one of the main features of the Russian-Ukrainian war: big plans often break on small points.
Russia tried to demonstrate strength.
Received a symbol of exhaustion.
Russia tried to report “taking.”
Received a meme about endless assaults.
Russia wanted to move further.
Got stuck for years on a line that Ukrainian defense turned into a line of resistance.
For Ukraine, this is a story of resilience. For Russia, a story of propaganda failure. For an external observer, including the Israeli reader, it is a reminder: war is decided not only by maps, statements, and loud reports. War is decided by people who hold positions, even when there is almost nothing left around.
NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency sees in the story of Maly Tokmachka an important lesson: sometimes a small village becomes a big symbol because it is on such lines that the real strength of an army, state, and society is tested.
In short: why Maly Tokmachka entered the history of this war
Fact Meaning
The village is located near Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region This is an important section of the southern front and the road to Zaporizhzhia
Russia claimed control back in 2022 But did not achieve stable control
In 2025, Russia again declared “liberation” After this, fighting and statements about defense continued
The 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade was included in the Book of Records of Ukraine The defense of the area received official historical fixation
A meme appeared online about 1500 days of attempts to “take” the village Maly Tokmachka became a symbol of the failure of Russian propaganda
The village is almost destroyed by the war Behind the meme is the real cost of defense
Main conclusion
Maly Tokmachka has long ceased to be just the name of a settlement. It is a symbol of how a small Ukrainian village can become a line that the Russian army has been struggling with for years.
This story has it all: military resilience, destruction, propaganda statements, memes, black satire, and the real cost of war.
Russia wanted to turn Maly Tokmachka into another victorious line. But it turned out differently. The village became a reminder that “taken” on TV and taken on the ground are different things.
And while Russian propaganda tries to explain another “advancement,” Ukrainian history has already recorded something else: Maly Tokmachka became one of the symbols of resistance, where every meter of land turned out to be more important than all Russian reports.
…
Ukraine is looking for workers, Israel shows a model: migrants cover only 0.1% of market needs - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля
Trump promises a finale with Iran: deadline, Pakistan, and a deal that is not yet in place - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля
The Kishinev pogrom: In 1903, the central authorities in Russia wanted Jewish blood to be shed, and that is exactly what happened. - June 5, 2026
- Новости Израиля