A man in Kyiv has claimed that criminals in the city have armed themselves with military-grade weapons.

‘Zelenskyy regime is evil’: Man in Ukraine claims robberies, rapes rising as govt arms civilians

Russia-Ukraine War News Updates: In a video filmed in Kyiv, a man claimed that criminals in the city had armed themselves with military-grade weapons after Ukraine President Zelenskyy declared that all civilians willing to fight Russian forces would be given arms.

02 Mar 2022, 07:23 by India Today Web Desk · India Today

Ukraine has been under attack from Russian forces since February 24 when Russia's President Vladimir Putin declared war.

As the invasion continued, a man in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv said the Russian army is not the only threat for Ukrainian civilians.

In a video filmed in Kyiv on February 28, a writer named Gonzalo Lira claimed that criminals in Ukraine have got their hands on military-grade weapons after President Zelenskyy's regime declared that it would arm all civilians willing to fight against Russian forces.

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“After the Zelenskyy regime handed out weapons willy-nilly in the last few days, lots of criminals have military-grade weapons, and there have been robberies, rapes and all kinds of havoc due to this,” he said in the video posted on Twitter.

He added, “It’s known for a fact that a lot of the shooting in Kyiv last night had nothing to do with Russians; the Russians were 10 km away from these shootings. These were probably gang-related shootings.”

According to Gonzalo Lira, criminal gangs are using their new weapons to “figure out their dominance hierarchy” amid “anarchy created by the government”. After they finish settling their own scores, they will start targeting civilians, he claimed in his video.

Blaming Ukraine President Zelenskyy and his government, he said, “These people are creating chaos in Ukraine in the name of people fighting against the Russians. It’s absurd and irresponsible and will hurt the Ukrainian people. I’ve come to the conclusion that the Zelenskyy-led regime is evil.”

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“The Western media is not talking about it. I’m worried about getting shot not by the Russians or Ukrainian army but by criminals. I’m so angry. This [handing out weapons to civilians] will not stop the Russians. It will only cause death and suffering of civilians, just so Zelenskyy can have a photo-op,” he concluded.