How Ukrainian Civilians Are Altering Road Signs & Making Homemade Weapons To Resist Russia’s Invasion
They will not go quietly.
Youtube Wars are fought by soldiers with guns and tanks, but those who pay the greatest price, are often the people whose backyards and neighborhoods become battlefields.
Typically it is the task of civilians in conflict zones to remove themselves from harm's way as quickly as possible. If you ever find yourself in a warzone then you need to find the right mix of protecting loved ones, signaling that you are a non-combatant, and getting away from any fighting.
Many of the citizens of Ukraine have decided to stand and aid in the defense of their nation.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is widely considered an unwarranted and cruel act of tyranny and the Ukrainian government, military, and even civilian population are not taking it lying down.
One of the safer but still very effective means of civilian resistance against the Russian invaders is designed to confuse Russian vehicles and convoys and prevent them from reaching their objectives.
Ukrainian officials and citizens change and remove road signs to confuse Russian movements.
Often changing the text of signs to read “Go f*** yourself,” or just removing road signs altogether, Ukrainians are not only trying to make their invaders bleed for every foot of ground but also to make sure that they don’t even know what ground they are supposed to take.
RELATED: Thousands Of Ukrainians Living Abroad Return Home To Aid Military Efforts Amid Russian Invasion
The next method of resistance being employed by some Ukrainian citizens is, in an interesting turn of fate, a Kremlin classic.
Ukrainians are mass-producing molotov cocktails for use against Russian invaders.
The humble molotov cocktail is as simple as it is devastating. Molotovs are simple incendiary devices that can easily be improvised and made in large quantities.
The irony of the use of this weapon against the invading Russian forces is that the Red Army famously made use of the same simple devices against invading Nazi forces during the second world war.
Videos are circulating everywhere online of Ukrainians making, distributing, and even using molotovs against Russian forces.
Civilians always pay the highest price in war.
Unlike a soldier who has some measure of expectation that they will face life-threatening situations, the only thing that civilians in warzones ever did to find themselves in that circumstance is live in a place that politicians and military officers decided would be the sandbox for their weapons of war. Russia isn’t going to pay for the houses that they blow up or the injuries and funerals of non-combatants.
As always, it is critical to remember that it will fall to individuals, families, and communities to rebuild once the fighting is over.
Glory to Ukraine. Glory to the heroes.
If you want to help the people of Ukraine, please donate to United Help Ukraine who are providing donations, food and medical supplies to displaced Ukrainians.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.