The fighting is getting increasingly brutal in Ukraine today and the civilian casualties are reportedly mounting into the thousands. But at least the government is keeping a sense of humor while communicating with its embattled citizens. The Ukrainian National Agency for the Protection against Corruption put out a public service statement this week with useful information for anyone who has stolen any Russian tanks or other military hardware during the invasion. Don’t worry about needing to report the estimated value of the tank or personnel carrier on your taxes next year. You’ll be given a pass from the taxman and you can just keep it or sell it as you wish. Of course, this assumes there will still be a Ukrainian government left to levy any taxes by then, which is far from assured. We should offer the usual disclaimer here that the whole thing could be a joke because the Ukrainian officials have already released some statements that were intended to be humorous but were taken seriously because of translation issues. And, after all, their president is a former comedian. (Interfax.com)

Ukraine’s National Agency for the Protection against Corruption (NAPC) has declared that captured Russian tanks and other equipment are not subject to declaration.

“Have you captured a Russian tank or armored personnel carrier and are worried about how to declare it? Keep calm and continue to defend the Motherland! There is no need to declare the captured Russian tanks and other equipment, because the cost of this … does not exceed 100 living wages (UAH 248,100),” NAPC’s press service said.

Also, there is no need in this case to submit reports of significant changes in property status within 10 days.

How many people could this offer really apply to, though? Perhaps more than we might think. In case you missed it previously, here’s a Ukrainian farmer who calmly hooked up a Russian tank that had run out of gas to his tractor and hauled it away. He said he planned to sell it for scrap metal.

And of course, here’s the guy who pulls up next to a column of stalled Russian tanks and offers to tow them back to Russia for free.

On a more serious note, accurate data from this conflict has been hard to come by and any numbers you see flying around tend to come with a warning that the figures can’t be confirmed. One recent report from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed that they had thus far destroyed 191 tanks, 816 armored vehicles, 29 warplanes and 29 helicopters. That may be a total exaggeration on the part of Ukraine for all we know, but if it’s not, then the vaunted Russian army is in a lot worse shape than we previously believed.