In Lviv, Ukraine, civilians take resistance to Russia into their own hands
They're setting up roadblocks and making molotov cocktails they're calling 'Lviv smoothies'
On the outskirts of apicturesque city in western Ukraine known for its rich historyand culture, a handful of men have just finished blocking the roadwith heavy machinery and metal barricades.
On other main roads, volunteers lay down sandbags.
Downtown, workers coverwindows of the Museum of Ethnography and Historic Artifacts with protective metal sheeting, and young volunteers makemolotov cocktails. They call them "Lvivsmoothies."
Lviv a tourist hubabout 80 kilometres from Ukraine's border with Poland has not yet been a heavy target of Russia's invasion.This, and its proximity to the border, has made the city a refuge for displaced Ukrainians as Russia escalates its attacks on other major urban areas, including the capital, Kyiv, as well as the strategic port cities ofOdesa and Mariupol in the south.
But asRussia's threat continued to intensify, a resistance in Lviv largely powered by civilianshas gathered force.
"I am not scared. We are not afraid. We are Ukrainians," saidVolodya Mykhafrom a road outside Lviv.
"We are proud to defend out territory. We are not willing to run.
"We are not attacking. We are defending. That's all"
War's death toll not clear
The overall death toll from the seven-day-old war is not clear.
On Wednesday, in Kharkiv alone, at least 21 people were killed and 112 injured over the past day, said Oleg Sinehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration. A Russianstrike hit the regional police and intelligence headquarters in Ukraine's second-largest city ofabout 1.5 million people.
The attack came a day after one in Kharkiv's central square that killed at least six people.
The UNrefugee agency said late Wednesday that one millionpeople have now fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion last week,the swiftest exodus of refugees this century.
Blockposts, supplies
The military is assisting locals who are building roadblocks, called "blockposts." They help co-ordinateand give informationon where and how to build them, focusing on offshoots from the main roads into the city.
The police also send people manning the roadblocks lists of suspect cars anddriver's licence plate numbers.
In an old factory bomb shelter, local youth volunteer their time to organize donated water, food, clothing and other supplies to be shipped to hard-hit Kyivand Kharkiv.
Real estate lawyer Oleg Boianivsky, 28, has been organizing the group, which,he says, has been hard at work for three days, making hundreds of calls, organizing supplies, and driving cars and trucks across Ukraine.
"We will sleep when it's ended," he said.
"We are trying to help our people across the country. We asked our friends in Poland to help us. They [brought]us some medicine, foodand everything we need."
When asked if he thought war would come to Lviv,Boianivskysaid, "War is here. It is everywhere."
WATCH | In Lviv, Ukrainians help the war effort:
Molotov cocktails, or 'Lviv smoothies'
At a roadblock in Lviv there is a collection of empty bottles, presumably ready to be made into molotov cocktails.
Young volunteers have been making the home-made weapons out of donated and recycled beer and alcohol bottles, calling them "Lviv smoothies," or"Bandera Smoothies," named after Stephen Bandera, a polarizing Ukrainian ultra-nationalist who fought against Soviet occupation but was also a Nazi collaborator during the Second World War.
A van load of around 3,000 molotov cocktails destined for Kyivand Kharkiv were made by approximately 75 volunteerson Sunday.
WATCH | Young Ukrainians use what's on hand to defend cities:
'You have to put your energy somewhere'
Back at the blockpost, Ivan Kashey, who works in IT, says he and the other men volunteering here are self-organized.
"It was too hard to watch the news every day non-stop. So we tried to do something. We are patrolling the place," he said.
He's concerned that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to "Soviet Union, 2.0," he said.
"From west to east, everybody's trying to make sure that this won't happen," Kashey said.
He said the overall mood in Lviv is "positive," residents are well protected, and he doesn'tthinkthe city itself is in danger.
But still, Kashey said, they will continue to build barricades, patroland protect.
"You have to put your energy somewhere, right? So ... put it into barricades," he said.
"I think we're going to want to win this war, right? There's not many options."
With files from CBC's Natalie Stechyson and The Associated Press
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