British daily The Times reported on the 24th (local time) that some citizens who participated in the volunteer army in Ukraine, where the war crisis is escalating, purchased weapons with their own money and started preparing for war.
As Russia gathers its troops on the border of Ukraine, war is rife, but inside Ukraine, such a crisis does not happen in a day or two, so there is no apparent anxiety on the outside.
However, since Ukraine does not currently have an official military alliance, if Russia invades, the regular army will inevitably be insufficient, so volunteers are being actively recruited.
In an interview with The Times, Mariana Zaglo, 52, who lives in the capital Kiev, revealed the 'Javroya Z-15', a recently purchased Ukrainian Kevin rifle.
Zaglo, a mother of three and a marketing expert, said she recently bought the gun for 1,300 euros.
"I've never hunted until now. But I bought this gun after hearing soldiers say which guns they like. When the time comes to fight for Kiev, we will fight to defend our city."
In addition to rifles, Jaglo also purchased accessories such as silencers and telescopic sights, and military uniforms such as bulletproof caps and snow camouflage suits, and is also attending sniper classes for a full month.
Russia is currently concentrating its forces in eastern Ukraine, but if war breaks out, Kiev will not be spared, Zaglo predicted.
As the Russian military recently dispatched troops to Belarus, Russian troops are also lurking on the Belarusian border, less than 100 kilometers from Kiev.
"It doesn't make sense for Russia to leave Kiev alone at war with Ukraine," he said.
He explained that the reason he started preparing for war on his own was due to the fact that Russia's troops continue to be concentrated at the border while diplomatic solutions between the United States, Europe and Russia have not been making progress in recent years.
In particular, recently, the sense of crisis is growing as the US and UK have decided to withdraw some personnel from their embassies.
Zaglo is also a member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces (TDF), which are volunteers.
Recently, the TDF force has been growing at a rapid pace.
Made up of 10,000 reservists years ago, the volunteers have been spurring recruitment in the last two months, trying to secure thousands of troops.
At least 5,000 TDF troops have been deployed to defend the capital Kiev.
The Ukrainian Army has only just started distributing weapons to reservists, but TDF troops such as Zaglo do not wait for this to happen, but instead use their own money to secure rifles and ammunition in advance.
However, the Times reported that Ukrainian society is not as discouraged by the atmosphere of war as it appears from the outside.
This is because this crisis is nothing new for Ukrainians, as they have already experienced a lot of situations in which military forces come and go around since the time of the Soviet Union.
Shops, bars, restaurants, banks, etc. are operating normally and no major transport hubs show crowds fleeing Kiev.
The recent weakness in the Ukrainian hryvnia against the euro may suggest people are withdrawing money, but the majority of Ukrainians are leading a peaceful life, the media reported.
"People have gotten used to this kind of war crisis for years," Zaglo said. "My friends and neighbors talk about things like where to go on spring or summer vacations."
In Ukraine, private ownership of some firearms is permitted under strict control.
(Photo = Getty Images Korea)