Ukrainian mother, 52, arms herself with a huge rifle amid threat of Russian invasion

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A Ukrainian mother-of-three has been pictured arming herself with a huge rifle as thousands of the nation’s civilians prepare for the prospect of a Russian invasion.

Mariana Zhaglo is far from a typical Ukrainian soldier, but the 52-year-old marketing researcher has said she is willing to do whatever it takes to defend her country. 

‘As a mother I do not want my children to inherit Ukraine‘s problems, or have these threats passed on to them. It is better that I deal with this now,’ Mariana said.

‘If it comes to it then we will fight for Kiev; we will fight to protect our city. If there is a need for the shooting to start, then I’ll start shooting,’ the mother continued, as she showed off her newly-bought Zbroyar Z-15 rifle in her flat in the Ukrainian capital.

She went on to explain that the Zbroyar Z-15 is a hunting rifle, but that she has no intentions of hunting.

‘I have never hunted in my life. I bought this carbine after listening to some soldiers discussing the best rifle to get,’ Mariana told The Times.

The marketing researcher is just one of thousands of Ukrainians who recently joined the nation’s Territorial Defence Forces (TDF) – a voluntary section of the army which has seen its numbers swell amid rising tensions on the Russian border.

It comes as UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that intelligence suggests Russia’s elite forces may have already crossed the border into Ukraine. 

Wallace said: ‘We are becoming aware of a significant number of individuals that are assessed to be associated with Russian military advance force operations that currently are located in Ukraine.’ 

‘Any crossing into Ukraine, whether small or large, would be viewed as a breach of that sovereignty, against international law and an invasion.

‘You can’t be half-pregnant, you are either invading a country or you are not.’

British special forces are also preparing to deploy to Ukraine to carry out an evacuation of more than 1,000 British nationals should an invasion take place. 

The Foreign Office has posted advice telling British nationals in Ukraine to ‘register their presence’ with the British embassy in Kiev – currently operating with a skeleton crew following the withdrawal of some diplomats – for evacuations by special forces if needed.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron today became the latest Western leader to promise a ‘retaliation’ should Russia proceed with an invasion of its neighbour. 

‘If there is an attack, there will be retaliation and the price (for Russia) will be very high,’ Macron said, urging Russia to de-escalate.

Russia meanwhile maintains that there is no plan to invade Ukraine and has accused NATO and the West of escalating tensions in the region.

The hunting rifle wasn’t a one-off purchase for Mariana.

In addition to dropping over £950 on the weapon, she also attended a two-week sniper course and had several attachments fitted – including a bipod, a telescopic sight and a silencer – to ensure she could be as lethal as possible.   

Mariana went on to spend another £830 on military garb – a helmet, snow camouflage, bulletproof vest, ammo and boots – and has stocked up on canned goods so she can remain holed up in the apartment for weeks.

But the 52-year-old is just one of thousands of civilians, from veterinary medical students to architects, who have joined the TDF – Ukraine‘s army reserves – to be trained for armed conflict.

The Kiev branch of the TDF ran a training exercise over the weekend in the snow covered forests outside the capital, while scores of civilians across the country – many of them young – have signed up to similar training programs to receive basic combat skills. 

In the event of a potential invasion by Russia, these youngsters will be part of the country’s civil resistance that will carry on the fight against Russian soldiers if Ukraine’s 255,000-strong regular army is overwhelmed.

The region has been on a knife-edge since the end of last year when Moscow moved as many as 100,000 troops, as well as tanks and missiles, close to its border with Ukraine, but tensions have ramped up in recent days after a surge in equipment and troop movements, among them military police, from the extreme east of Russia.

Mariana told The Times that many Ukrainians have learned to live with the threat of a potential invasion ever since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and said it is not unusual for Russia to intermittently increase troop deployments near the border. 

But she remained resolute in her intention to remain in the capital and fight in the event of an invasion.

‘Neither my husband nor I have any living relatives elsewhere, we have nowhere else to go. This is our home. We will fight for it,’ she declared.

Mariana’s defiance comes as French President Emmanuel Macron became the latest Western leader to promise ‘retaliation’ if Russia goes on to invade Ukraine.

Speaking at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier today, Macron said: ‘If there is an attack, there will be retaliation and the price (for Russia) will be very high.’  

Macron also said he would seek clarification over Russia’s intentions towards Ukraine in a scheduled phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, two days after political advisers from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are expected to meet for talks in Paris tomorrow.

Macron said he hoped his telephone call with Putin on Friday would yield a ‘demanding dialogue and obtain clarifications’.

Though Chancellor Scholz echoed Macron’s support for Ukraine, Berlin has thus far refused to provide weapons shipments to the eastern European country in the face of a potential Russian attack.

‘We have done a great deal to actively support economic development and democratic development in Ukraine,’ Scholz said, adding that Germany ‘feels responsible for ensuring that Ukraine remains a (gas) transit country.’

Though Germany has long maintained a policy of refusing to send arms to conflict zones, there are speculations that Scholz’s reluctance to match his NATO counterparts’ support of Ukraine comes as a result of Germany’s reliance on Russia for its gas supplies.

Europe’s gas markets are linked by a network of interconnecting pipelines, and while some countries have cut their reliance on Russian gas over the years, many would be unable to satisfy demand should Russia decide to slash their supply.

Germany depends on Russia for up to 40 per cent of its gas imports and the EU nation would struggle to find an alternative option should Russia retaliate in the face of strong economic sanctions following an invasion.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy today urged people to stay calm about the threat of a Russian attack and said there was work in progress to bring about a meeting between him and the leaders of Russia, France and Germany.

In a televised video address, Zelenskiy said this week’s withdrawal of personnel from Western embassies in Kiev did not signal that a military escalation with Russia was inevitable, but called for caution.

‘There are no rose-tinted glasses, no childish illusions. It’s not simple, but there is hope,’ Zelenskiy said. ‘Protect your body from viruses, your brain from lies, your heart from panic.

Russia denies it plans to invade Ukraine but is demanding legally binding security guarantees from the United States and NATO over fears that allowing Ukraine to join the international security bloc would threaten Russian borders. 

Russian authorities said on Tuesday they were watching with ‘great concern’ after the US delivered more arms shipments to Ukraine and stationed 8,500 troops on alert to be ready to deploy to Europe in case of an escalation on the Russian-Ukrainian border.

The announcement came hours after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday night that Russia will be swiftly hit with an ‘unprecedented package of sanctions’ in the event of a fresh incursion in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister and US President Joe Biden met virtually with the leaders of NATO, the EU, Italy, Poland, France and Germany on Monday evening as they hoped to avert a potential conflict in Ukraine.

Downing Street stressed that sharing diplomatic discussions with Russia remains the first priority, but said the nation would be hit with ‘swift retributive responses’ if a ‘further Russian incursion into Ukraine’ takes place.

Biden said the leaders discussed preparations to ‘impose severe economic costs’ against Moscow while seeking to ‘reinforce security on the eastern flank’, with the Pentagon putting 8,500 US troops on heightened alert.

Earlier in the day, Mr Johnson warned in an interview that ‘gloomy’ intelligence suggested Russia was planning a lightning raid on Kiev, as British staff and their families began leaving the Ukrainian capital.

‘The intelligence is very clear that there are 60 Russian battle groups on the borders of Ukraine, the plan for a lightning war that could take out Kiev is one that everybody can see,’ said Johnson.

‘We need to make it very clear to the Kremlin, to Russia, that that would be a disastrous step.’