A Ukrainian MP said “that’s exactly why I’m looking at my AK-47 in front of me” when he was asked about the Russia invasion closing in on Kyiv.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sviatoslav Yurash said he was readying to fight the Russians himself if necessary with his own gun.
Kyiv citizens have been urged to make their own molotov cocktails as part of the defence of the capital.
Yurash said: "This is a full-scale invasion intending to destroy the Ukrainian state and take it over.
“We will fight with everything we have and all the support the world can provide us.
"We are arming people who will be taking that fight to the Russians in every way.
“We are a nation of 40 million people and we are not going to just stand idly by as Russia does as it wants all across its borders.
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“We will fight with everything we have and all the support the world can provide us."
Despite admitting to have a “rudimentary knowledge” of the weapon, the MP said “these are skills you pick up very fast when you’re fighting for your life.”
He claimed there were Ukraine citizens “gathering in plenty” at recruitment stations, ready to fight as well.
This all comes on the second day of the Russian invasion.
Throughout the night the Ukrainian capital was bombarded with Russian missile strikes.
Air raid sirens sounded across Kyiv and many took shelter int underground bomb shelters.
Pictures emerging from the capital showed smoke plumes rising above the capital and fire from the missile attacks.
Burnt out residential buildings and damaged homes were snapped as well, showing the toll the invasion is quickly taking on the capital.
And now there are reports that Russian troops are fighting outside the capital, as UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Moscow intends to conquer the entire country.
However, despite Putin’s advances, Russia has already lost 450 troops, and both Ukraine and the UK have said they failed to achieve their objectives on the first day of the invasion.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: "Our assessment as of this morning is that Russia has not taken any of its major objectives, in fact it is behind its hopeful timetable.
“They’ve lost over 450 personnel and… one of the significant airports they were trying to capture with their elite Spetsnaz has failed to be taken, and in fact the Ukrainians have taken it back.”
Outside the northern city of Chernihiv, Ukrainian troops halted the Russian march, and fighting continues outside the city according to the country’s Ministry of Defence.
The country’ Ministry of Defence also said that it thought Russia had failed to achieve its day one objectives and had been met with “fierce resistance” across all fronts.
Yurash would be far from the only Ukrainian to pick up weapons for the first time as the Ukrainian Defence Front has welcomed citizens of all ages into its ranks.
