In Pictures: Ukrainian civilian volunteers step up to defend homeland

Newlyweds, teacher, among scores of others picking up arms to help government troops.

Updated

Published

February 28, 2022 at 10:49 AM

Yaryna Arieva (right) and Sviatoslav Fursin got married just hours after Russia launched its invasion. They spent their first day as a married couple collecting rifles to defend their homeland, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Julia, a teacher, weeps as she and other volunteers waited to be deployed to defend Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb 26, 2022. Ukraine's defense forces waged a ferocious resistance to the Russian invasion on Saturday, battling to keep control of the capital, Kyiv, and other cities. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Armed volunteers muster to defend Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb 26, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Civilian volunteers prepare empty bottles to be used as Molotov cocktails at a collection point in a parking lot in Dnipro, about 300 miles southeast of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Feb 27, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

A volunteer with Molotov cocktails at the Pravda - (Truth) brewery in Lviv, Ukraine, Feb 27, 2022. PHOTO: AFP

Volunteers fill sand bags in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, Feb 27, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces reinforce the checkpoint with tires, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Feb 27, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces explains to a volunteer how to care for a Kalashnikov assault rifle, after Russia launched a massive military operation against Ukraine, inside a cafe in the city of Zhytomyr, Ukraine, Feb 27, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Volunteers hand-tie camouflage netting for use by the Ukrainian military in a city some 100 miles southwest of Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26, 2022. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video on Saturday that the Ukrainian military, aided by civilians armed with rifles and firebombs, had withstood and successfully repelled enemy attacks throughout the country. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces volunteers drill being deployed to defend Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Volunteers get a briefing before being deployed to fight Russian troops throughout Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb 26, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Armed volunteers muster to defend Kyiv during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Feb. 26, 2022. Ukraine's army and a growing corps of civilian volunteers have defied expectations by slowing and in some cases halting the Russian army's advance. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Volunteers, one holding an AK-47 rifle, protect a main road leading into Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: AFP

Ukrainian military volunteers receive weapons at a weapons storage facility in Fastiv, Ukraine, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Ukrainian military volunteers gather to receive weapons at a weapons storage facility in Fastiv, Ukraine, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

Members of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine receive weapons to defend the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Members of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine load ammunition after receiving weapons to defend the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Members of the Territorial Defence Forces of Ukraine load ammunition after receiving weapons to defend the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: REUTERS

Armed civilian volunteers stand alert on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb 25, 2022. PHOTO: AFP

Ukrainian volunteer paramedics prepare to travel to the frontline to treat wounded soldiers fighting against the Russian offensive in Pvalograd, Ukraine, Feb 24, 2022. PHOTO: THE NEW YORK TIMES

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