Former Ukrainian President Takes Up Kalashnikov To Fight Russians

Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has taken up arms against the Russian army in his nation’s capital, saying resistance fighters are prepared to hold out “forever.”

The 56-year-old, who led Ukraine from 2014 to 2019, held up a Kalashnikov rifle during an interview with CNN’s John Berman on Friday as an example of the weaponry available to them. Poroshenko said the men around him did not have access to heavy artillery like tanks as Russia assaults Kyiv.

“I think that Putin never will catch Ukraine, no matter how many soldiers he has, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has,” Poroshenko said from a Kyiv street.

“We Ukrainians are free people,” he said.

Poroshenko motioned to the people around him and described them as ordinary citizens who want to help fight ― some have never before served in the military ― but he said there are not enough firearms to equip them all.

Still, he said, their willingness to show up is a “demonstration [of] how Ukrainian people hate Putin and how we are against Russian aggression.”

“This is very clear,” he added.

CNN reported Thursday that some U.S. officials are concerned that Kyiv will fall to Russia within days. Russian troops captured the Chernobyl nuclear plant north of Kyiv on Thursday and have taken hostages there, according to the White House.

But Russian troops have reportedly been less successful in their efforts to seize a key airfield outside of the capital.

Current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued an order earlier this week forbidding men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country, although they are not obligated to enlist. Many Ukrainians have opted to seek refuge in neighboring countries like Poland while the fighting plays out. Meanwhile, some who stayed behind in Kyiv have hunkered down in underground subway stations ― which were designed to serve as bomb shelters when they were built under the Soviet government.

Russian forces have been crossing into Ukraine from nearly all sides this week, prompting air raid sirens and reports of shelling around the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin has not clearly stated his ultimate goal in attacking its democratic neighbor. He falsely asserted that Russian troops were needed to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine, but the fighting has expanded well beyond that region.

Speaking from Kyiv, Poroshenko called Putin “simply mad.”