There’s little that’s funny about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which hasn’t gone as smoothly as the aggressor nation must have wanted. Russian forces have been with strong resistance, including from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who refused an offer to be evacuated, saying, “I need ammunition, not a ride.” There’s still humor to be found in the febrile situation. The Lincoln Project targeted Putin-supporting Republicans in a new parody ad. And SNL’s Weekend Update managed to get in some zingers, mostly by targeting Trump and Tucker.
“It’s a tough subject to make jokes about,” Michael Che joked at one point. “In my lifetime I’ve seen footage of attacks like this on other countries, but never a white one.”
“Russia began their invasion of Ukraine,” Colin Jost said at the segment’s start. “President Putin launched the attack with support from allies like Belarus and Tucker Carlson.”
“Many analysts were surprised that Putin went through with the invasion, even though it was obviously going to be a colossal mistake,” Jost later joked. “But he couldn’t back down after all that build-up.” He then shivved his own network, cracking, “Kind of like NBC still had to go through with airing the Winter Olympics.”
Che also praised the Ukrainian people, including comedian-turned-president Zelenskyy. “I’m very impressed by all the Ukrainian citizens signing up to defend their country, even the famous ones,” he said. “Imagine that here? If you ever read on the news that Michael Che joined an American war, we have just lost that war!”
Jost, meanwhile, brought up former president Donald Trump’s widely condemned comments about the invasion. “Donald Trump praised Vladimir Putin for moving troops into the Ukraine, saying ‘This is genius!’…though ‘This is genius!’ is also how he sarcastically introduces Eric,” he joked.
The segment also featured bits about President Joe Biden’s new Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson, New York City mayor Eric Adams, Prince Andrew, and a man who got AA batteries stuck inside his wang.
You can watch the latest Weekend Update in the video above.