New Delhi: Ukrainians are taking up arms to fight off the Russian army. Many volunteers including the former Miss Ukraine Anastasiia Lenna have taken up arms to defend their country.
Lenna, who won the Miss Ukraine competition in 2015, posted an image of herself on Instagram as she announced she had joined the country’s resistance against Russian troops, Daily Mail reported.
Lenna, who usually works as a public relations manager in Turkey, posted the image alongside two hashtags – stand with Ukraine and hands off Ukraine.
It is not the first time she has been pictured with a gun and previous posts appear to show her training with weapons in wooded arenas and indoor training grounds, the report said.
Many waiting for weapons to defend country
At recruitment centers in Kyiv, many citizens are waiting for weapons to prevent Russian troops from taking their cities.
Among the volunteers who have taken up arms is a newly married couple Yarina Arieva and Svyatoslav Fursinb who joined the ranks of the city territorial defense on February 26. The couple tied the knot in Kyiv on February 25, 2022.
Apart from ordinary citizens, Ukrainian political leaders have also taken up arms after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that weapons will be provided to anyone who wants to defend the country.
Ukrainian parliamentarian Kira Rudik who had also taken up arms has posted multiple pictures of herself with guns. She wrote, “I learn to use #Kalashnikov and prepare to bear arms. It sounds surreal as just a few days ago it would never come to my mind. Our #women will protect our soil the same way as our #men. Go #Ukraine!”.
Putin places nuclear deterrent forces on alert
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed the country’s nuclear deterrent forces on a “special” alert on Sunday, RT reported.
The move comes in response to “hostile” rhetoric by top NATO officials, he said
On the other hand, Russian forces on Sunday entered Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv after failing in their overnight efforts to seize control of the capital city of Kyiv.
With inputs from IANS
