Ukraine’s defence ministry urges Kyiv residents to make Molotov cocktails to fight Russian troops

As fighting broke out in a northern Kyiv neighbourhood on Friday, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry encouraged residents “to make Molotov cocktails [firebombs] and neutralise the enemy". Weapons were later seen being handed out to men in civilian clothing.

An amateur video posted on Twitter on February 25, 2022 showed weapons being handed out to men in civilian clothing in the northern Kyiv district of Obolon.
An amateur video posted on Twitter on February 25, 2022 showed weapons being handed out to men in civilian clothing in the northern Kyiv district of Obolon. © France 24 Observers
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The fighting took place in the Obolon district of Kyiv, also known as Obolonsky. In an amateur video filmed 8 kilometres northwest of Kyiv’s Independence Square and posted on Twitter, small-arms fire could be heard in the neighbourhood as a tracked vehicle manoeuvred in the street. It was impossible to determine whether the tracked vehicle belonged to the Russian or Ukrainian military. 

This video posted on Twitter on 25 February 2022 shows a tracked vehicle maneuvering in the Obolonsky district in northern Kiev, at a location 8km from the city’s Independence Square. Small-arms fire can be heard.

By midmorning Friday, Ukraine’s defence ministry said that Russian forces had entered the Obolon district. A large formation of Russian helicopters had attacked the Antonov cargo airport at Hostomel on the outskirts of the city on Thursday, and the Russian defence ministry said Friday the troops who landed at the airport had hooked up with other Russian troops in the western part of the city.

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry on February 25, 2022 addressed a Facebook post to residents of the Obolon district of Kyiv: “We ask citizens to keep us informed about the movement of military hardware. Make Molotov Cocktails, Neutralise The Occupier!”
This amateur video posted on Twitter on 25 February 2022 shows weapons being handed out in the Kiev neighbourhood of Obolon.