Molotov Cocktail: Why Ukraine Is Using These Homemade Bombs vs. Russia?

As Russian soldiers marched on Kyiv on Friday, Ukraine's military ministry called on civilians to "prepare Molotov cocktails."

Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, declared on Friday that shots and explosions are ringing out in certain areas as saboteurs have already made their way into Kyiv.

"The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us," he said, according to Reuters.

As Russia approaches Ukraine's capital, the country's defense ministry sent out a tweet alerting locals about reconnaissance and sabotage units in the Obolon region, requesting them to report military vehicle movements and even encouraging them to create Molotov bombs.

An infographic on creating a Molotov cocktail, a type of improvised bottle-based incendiary weapon that dates back to the First Soviet-Finnish War, has even circulated on social media, too.

Molotov Cocktail Can Make More Fire

According to Live Science, Molotov cocktails were particularly successful against the invaders since early Soviet tanks were powered by gasoline, which quickly catches fire, rather than less combustible diesel.

As a result, Ukraine's army has built a drone that can drop Molotov cocktails on invading Russian soldiers, with one of the beer bottle-turned weapons being used on Thursday.

The New York Post said the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces built the small flying drone, which looks to have four blades.

The Molotov cocktail may be held horizontally on the middle console before being remotely launched.

Military instructors have been instructing citizens on how to use Molotov cocktails against Russian forces who are highly equipped, and the instructions for making them have apparently been broadcast on Ukrainian radio.

What Are These Explosives?

Molotov cocktails are homemade explosives manufactured from combustible ingredients and contained in a thick glass container, such as a bottle of wine, champagne, or whiskey.

Marca said Ukrainian residents have used this explosive to assist maintain the country's major cities, such as Kiev and Kharkiv, under their hands.

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov, a former dignitary of the erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), is the name of these improvised explosives.

Molotov, a Russian native, served as the Soviet Union's foreign minister and was a member of the Russian Social Democratic Party's Bolshevik wing, which subsequently became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

During the 1917 revolution, he was a comrade of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, and later held several posts within the party, including secretary of the Central Committee and leadership of the Party Committee in Moscow, where he oversaw the so-called "purge" of the Communist Soviet Party. After the Nazi regime attacked Poland in November 1939, the Soviets invaded Finland, sparking the Winter War. Molotov cocktails became renowned as a result of this fight.

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