Locals prepare Molotov cocktails in Zaporizhzhia on February 27, 2022.Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- Photos have emerged of Ukrainian civilians making Molotov cocktails, a type of improvised firebomb.
- Employees at a local brewery have also switched from producing beer to making Molotov cocktails.
Across Ukraine, citizens are heeding their government's call to build Molotov cocktails — a kind of improvised firebomb — in an effort to defend their cities against Russia's invasion.
"Make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier!" Ukraine's defense ministry said in a tweet last Friday as Russian forces advanced on the capital city of Kyiv.
The National Guard of Ukraine also tweeted on Friday an infographic explaining how to make a Molotov cocktail.
Here are some scenes showing Ukrainians at work building the incendiary devices.
Across Ukraine, civilians are making Molotov cocktails in preparation for battle
Volunteers from the Territorial Defense Units make Molotov cocktails to use against the invading Russian troops in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city. MARCUS YAM / LOS ANGELES TIMES
A park has been turned into a Molotov cocktail factory
Residents of Dnipro, in central Ukraine, gather at Rocket Park to prepare Molotov cocktails on Sunday. Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
A brewery has switched from producing beer to making Molotov cocktails
A volunteer demonstrates the preparation of Molotov cocktails at the Pravda brewery in Lviv. DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images
With empty bottles at the ready, employees at the Pravda Brewery in Lviv have switched from producing beer to making Molotov cocktails.
"We do this because someone has to," brewery owner Yuriy Zastavny told AFP, as he vowed to do "everything we can to help win this war."
One of the brewery's most popular beers is "Putin khuylo," which is an insult directed at the Russian president. The phrase is commonly translated as "Putin is a dickhead."
Even children are involved in making the firebombs
A young girl sorts empty bottles for Molotov cocktails at a humanitarian center in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images
Even before Russia's invasion began, civilians were taught how to use Molotov cocktails
A military instructor teaches civilians to use Molotov cocktails at an abandoned factory in Kyiv. SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images
In the weeks leading up to Russia's invasion, Ukrainian civilians began receiving military-style training from veterans and current military service members on building improvised weapons such as Molotov cocktails.
They were also taught battlefield maneuvers and how to handle firearms.