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With the Russian military on its doorstep, everyday Ukrainians from all walks of life are stepping up to fight for their freedom, their democracy and their land.
The government distributed tens of thousands of automatic rifles to civilians last week, asking men between the ages of 18 and 60 to stand up and fight Vladimir Putin’s invading army. Even C-suite leaders and MPs are getting their hands dirty defending their country.
“After seven days with a machine gun, I began to forget that I could talk to people,” Vladimir Omelyan, Ukraine’s former infrastructure minister, told Fox News Digital. He is among a number of prominent Kyiv residents preparing for a Russian attack.
The military activated its reserves and the citizens voluntarily joined the militia. So many people tried to join earlier this week that government officials noticed a delay in processing them, according to local sources.
Vladimir Omelyan, in the center, is a former Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine and is now a police officer. (Vladimir Omelyan)
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In Kyiv, the country’s capital and Putin’s main target, a group of rebellious Ukrainians built makeshift defenses, blockades and checkpoints. It includes soldiers, lawmakers, prominent business leaders and the president himself.
“They will never take Kyiv,” Omelyan said. “We’re ready to fight.”
A brutal confrontation is planned
He predicted a brutal confrontation involving a city war and fierce resistance, as in Grozny during Russia’s invasion of Chechnya.
“I believe that the Russians still remember that it is quite difficult for tanks or vehicles to enter a hostile city,” he said.
Ukrainians attend open military training for civilians as part of “Don’t panic! Get ready!” in Kyiv against the background of the threat of Russian invasion. (Getty Images)
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Despite a larger, better-equipped army, American and British analysts say the Russians are facing unexpectedly fierce resistance. A 40-kilometer military convoy stretching from Kyiv to Belarus lasted days without advancing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a comedian and actor until he won the 2019 election. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko is a former world boxing champion.
Both remain in Kyiv despite the Russian threat.
Residents take shelter on the lower level of a metro station in Kyiv during Russian artillery strikes in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 (Getty Images)
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“The battle is here,” Zelensky said in response to the US evacuation proposal. “I need ammunition, not transportation.”
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s defense forces said they had thwarted a Chechen squad sent to assassinate the president after receiving intelligence from sources in Russia’s security agency.
“I was a fierce critic of him before the war,” Omelyan told Zelensky. “But we put aside all political disputes and fight one enemy: Putin.
March of the stalls in Kyiv
The US Department of Defense said on Wednesday that Putin’s troops had lost momentum but remained a powerful fighting force, although Ukraine’s defense halted its march on Kyiv.
The government distributed tens of thousands of automatic rifles to civilians last week, asking men between the ages of 18 and 60 to stand up and fight Vladimir Putin’s invading army. (Vladimir Omelyan)
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“Ukrainians have also retained much of their fighting power,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing Wednesday. “And they respond. They respond boldly.”
However, Ukrainians want more support from the West – including military equipment, humanitarian aid and ammunition. Defenders say anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons are crucial to the continued detention of Russian forces. They are hoping for more sanctions, membership and the European Union and possibly, possibly, NATO.
“Even under these conditions, we are fighting … and defending democracy,” Omelyan said. “On the other hand, we are defending our homeland and protecting our citizens. That is why we will fight to the last bullet, whatever is necessary, and no one will give up. This is not Afghanistan. It is not Chechnya. The Ukrainians are not going to back down and no one will destroy us. “
An armed man stands next to the remains of a Russian military car in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 1, 2022 (Associated Press)
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Far from the battlefield, an army of IT specialists is conducting another campaign – to counter Russian cyber attacks and misinformation.
“We have Ukraine’s IT army, where anyone with a phone could become a cyber warrior and launch DDoS attacks against the Russian government,” said Dr. Alexei Shaldenko, chief executive of intelligence firm Wantent, which is involved in Ukraine’s cyber activities. Protection.
DDoS means distributed denial of service – a type of attack that overloads the server with useless information to block it and download it offline. This is just a digital tool.
Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has launched a website to highlight the dead and captured Russians. He may oppose Russian propaganda, which will hide the number of victims, while acting as a crowdsourcing tool to help families identify those killed in action.
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“One of our tasks is to convey the truth to the citizens of Russia that Putin started a war and attacked the whole of Ukraine,” Shaldenko said.
Ukrainian hackers have also created online bots that are programmed to compare patients with doctors to share instructions on how to mix a Molotov cocktail.
The targets are civilians
Meanwhile, Russian air strikes and artillery are targeting more and more civilian infrastructure. Shaldenko had to interrupt the conversation when he said that the Russian bombs had started falling from above.
The photos show congested stations as refugees – mostly women and children – try to escape the violence.
People are waiting to board an evacuation train from Kyiv to Lviv, at Kiev Central Station, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 2, 2022 .
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Ukraine’s air defenses shot down a Russian missile over its head on Wednesday, according to Omelyan. The debris fell to about 300 to 400 meters. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
“The target of the Russian missile was the army’s general headquarters, which is relatively close to the railway station, in a residential area,” he said. “If they succeed, the damage will be enormous.”
A day earlier, another rocket blew up a civilian TV tower in the city, killing at least five people near the Babin Yar Holocaust memorial.
Alexei Komlichenko, managing partner at global recruitment agency Odgers Berndtson, said he was transporting medical supplies around Kyiv, caring for elderly citizens trapped in their homes by the war.
They need more medicine and food, he told Fox News Digital, but water, electricity and internet infrastructure remained almost intact.
A woman offers sweets to Ukrainian servicemen as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, in the village of Yasnogorodka in the Kiev region, Ukraine, March 2, 2022 .
“There are a lot of people hiding underground because there are constant signals of air strikes,” he said. “There are a lot of children. It’s hard to say how many people are left in Kyiv.”
“Full-scale war”
Meanwhile, the city’s defenders are building makeshift fortifications and preparing for a Russian attack – aware of the 40-mile-long military convoy north of the city.
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“Everything around is a full-scale war that people in the West have only seen in Hollywood dramas,” said Andriy Osadchuk, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who was returning from Lviv on a supply mission after leaving his three daughters behind. “But everything here is real. Today it is.”
Normally, it takes about six hours to drive, he told Fox News Digital. He expected to take almost 30, as he avoided danger zones.
He said there was a noticeable shortage of food and fuel in the country.
“Kyiv needs all kinds of help, from food to helmets and jet fighters,” he said. “Despite the tough battle, we are all motivated.”
He said Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was a war against the West and democracy itself.
“They are trying to destroy and annul everything that has been built by the democratic world in the last 80 years, after the end of World War II,” he said.