March 01, 2022, 04:10 PM
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Ukraine citizens, including women and children, have been arming themselves in preparation for the onslaught by Russia and have taken to making Molotov cocktails on the advice of authorities.
To assist in the efforts, one brewery in Lviv, a city in Western Ukraine, has decided to switch up its products in order to contribute to the ongoing war effort.
Equipping forces
The Pravda Brewery has been equipping soldiers and police, not with beer that it has traditionally been making, but with a different kind of "booze".
The brewery began producing Molotov cocktails for the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces on Feb. 26.
This comes amid fears that Russian tanks would invade the city, which currently has around 720,000 residents, AFP reported.
Pravda Brewery has also been appealing on its social media for donations for materials to construct the handmade bombs.
Molotov cocktails are primitive, but considered highly effective.
Experience making Molotov cocktails
Yuriy Zastavny, the brewery's owner, shared that they got this idea from an employee who took part in the 2014 Maidan Revolution in Ukraine to oust the then pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych.
In their Instagram caption, the brewery cited its staff's experience in making Molotov cocktails during the street revolution:
"Thank you friends from around the globe for your willingness to help. Many of you commented on how to improve the design of the cocktails. Thanks! Remember - we are a small but professional brewery and do a lot of research! not just theory - many of us went thru the bloody street protests of 2014."
Taras Maselko, the PR director of Pravda's holding company !Fest told EuroNews that the company is ready to move production to an undisclosed location if the war descends upon Lviv.
"This is probably the only time in history when the government is publishing the recipe of the Molotov cocktails! Because we all have one aim: we’re willing to defend our country," he said.
Citizens urged to make their own Molotov cocktails
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence previously urged residents to make homemade Molotov cocktails to defend themselves against Russian forces.
They said in their tweet:
"Make Molotov cocktails, neutralise the occupier!"
❗️увага
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) February 25, 2022
На Оболоні ворожа ДРГ.
Просимо громадян повідомляти про пересування техніки!
Виготовляти коктейлі «Молотова», знешкоджувати окупанта!
Мирним мешканцям - бути обережними! Не покидати оселі!
Google searches for recipes for Molotov cocktails also spiked after Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, called on residents to take up arms and join territorial defence forces, reported The Washington Post.
Since then, civilians have taken their government's advice to heart.
A photo on Twitter by a BBC correspondent showed residents in the city of Dnipro coming together outside an army recruitment centre to make and stockpile Molotov cocktails.
In #Dnipro crowds of women spent Saturday making Molotov cocktails. Teachers, lawyers, housewives, all crouched on the grass, filling bottles. They told me they try not to think about what they’re doing. They didn’t choose this. But they have to be ready to defend their city pic.twitter.com/TSEKmEs2XG
— Sarah Rainsford (@sarahrainsford) February 26, 2022
Children have also gotten involved, with photos snapped of them sorting empty bottles for use.
Photo from YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images
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Top photo from sarahrainsford / Twitter and YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images
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