Ukrainian Civilians Make Molotov Cocktails to Fight Russia

Molotov cocktail (Getty)
Getty
Joel B. Pollak

Ukrainian civilians remaining in the country’s metro areas are making Molotov cocktails for use against invading Russian forces, according to numerous reports from international news outlets, as Russian tanks encircled the capital city of Kyiv.

The BBC reported Sunday:

On the day Vladimir Putin ordered his soldiers into Ukraine, Arina had planned a dance class after work and then a party. Three days later, the English teacher was making Molotov cocktails in a park.

I found her crouching on the grass with dozens of other women, grating polystyrene chunks as if they were cheese and ripping sheets into rags for homemade bottle-bombs.

Such scenes are unimaginable to most in Europe. They were unthinkable here too, once.

The Los Angeles Times also reported:

In a basement three stories underground, on a quiet, unassuming street in Ukraine’s capital, Olga, 24, crumbled chunks of Styrofoam on Saturday, coaxing the white pebbles from her hand inside bottles of sangria mix, Beefeater gin, and beer and wine laid out in front of her.

Olga, a project manager at a graphic firm who asked that her full name not be published to protect her security, was a cog in a five-person Molotov cocktail assembly team. As she and a second woman crushed the Styrofoam, a man and woman to their side carefully poured fuel and oil into a funnel, oozing the mix into the bottles. Next to them, a man dipped the wicks — shredded pieces of tablecloths and curtains — before wrapping the heads with bits of twine.

“I left my old job two weeks ago, and was supposed to start the new one on Monday,” said Olga. “I never imagined I’d be doing this instead.

“I prefer my new job to this, really. But it’s important.”

The country’s defense ministry has called on residents to make Molotov cocktails to aid in the national defense.

It reportedly tweeted an instructional video teaching people how to craft the homemade weapon, which shatters and ignites on impact.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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