Kira Rudik, a female Ukrainian parliamentarian, has taken up guns and pledged to assist her country’s military in mounting opposition to Russia.
Rudik, a Ukrainian politician now based in Kyiv, told CNN that transitioning from working in parliament to fighting as a soldier on the front lines is unusual.
She said in such a situation, “Then you know you have to do something,” under the threat of Russian attack.
“That’s when you get a gun and you learn how to shoot it. You understand you have to get a group of resistance, which we did, and now we are helping our army to fight Russian soldiers who are trying to take Kyiv right now as I am talking to you,” she said.
Rudik says this is the “new reality”.
“We are not leaving. This is our town and this is our country, and no Putin soldiers will tell us how to live,” she added.
