Reports of rape and torture by occupying Russian forces have driven thousands of women in Ivano-Frankivsk to enrol in firearms classes
, Serhiy Korneliyevych Hamchuk stands before a row of women and lays a Kalashnikov assault rifle down on the desk in front of him.
“There are other institutions where men can train, but these are special courses organised for women,” Ruslan Martsinkiv, the city’s mayor, says. “Women have to be ready to protect themselves and their families.” Dressed in a grey hoodie, jeans and purple Crocs, Natalia watches while her daughter, Anya, lies propped up on her elbows on the shooting range, and cocks the air rifle tucked into her shoulder to load it with a pellet.
“There is no fighting in Ivano-Frankivsk at the moment, but if war comes here it will be a different situation – we’ve seen what happened in Bucha and Irpin,” Martsinkiv adds. “Women need to be ready, it’s the task of the present day, the task of war.”As they take it in turns to shoot a cup off a chair, the women chat and laugh. But they become sombre when they discuss what motivated them to attend.
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