‘Jokes are strategic’: how Mykolaiv’s leader uses humour to resist Putin

Mykolaiv’s regional administration building was hit by a Russian cruise missile on 29 March, leaving dozens trapped under debris and 38 dead. Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The Observer

When Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine on 24 February, Vitaliy Kim was still in bed sound asleep.

“I was dreaming something, but can’t remember what, and when I woke up, everybody was panicking,” said Kim, 41, governor of the industrial region of Mykolaiv. “It was frightening. People were asking me what to do now.”