15 Photos of the Homemade Weapons Ukraine's Protesters Built to Stand Up to Armed Forces

A group of Ukrainian protesters with homemade weapons walking down a street
Impact

Ukraine's revolution is now over, but the country is still very much in the midst of a crisis: Between mounting tensions in the East and the face-off over Crimea, Ukraine's new government already has a rocky road ahead of them. 

Now mostly empty, Kyiv's Independence Square stood as the symbol of the revolution, and the site of an immense face-off between protesters and security forces. According to the United Nations, 121 people died during the protests – most of whom were demonstrators. 

With no previous experience in combat, lack of military training and limited access to conventional weapons, the protesters who filled the city's central square had to use other methods of defending themselves against the government's ruthless riot police.

Talented filmmaker Vanessa Black examined the range of homemade weapons used throughout the revolution for PolicyMic. Speaking to Maidan's self-defense unit, Black uncovered the types of explosives and makeshift weapons protesters donned.

From molotov cocktails to homemade explosives, Black found that these weapons were not only terrifyingly easy to make, but are also symbolic of the kind of troubles regular Ukrainians faced. 

1. People had to defend themselves under desperate circumstances.

Vanessa Black

2. Protesters used homemade bombs and molotov cocktails among other types of weapons.

Vanessa Black

3. People turned fireworks into homemade bombs.

Vanessa Black

4. Every day items, like aerosol cans became ingredients of homemade bombs.

Vanessa Black

5. Nails enabled clubs to become more dangerous, and were used to make bazookas.

Vanessa Black

6. Needless to say, these explosives are incredibly dangerous.

Vanessa Black

7. They combine to make "the smell of the revolution."

Vanessa Black

8. Of course, the molotov cocktail became central to the protest movement.

Vanessa Black

9. In the chaos of urban guerilla warfare, it's easy to find the parts necessary to make a molotov cocktail.

Vanessa Black

10. To make it, you fill a glass bottle with a gasoline mixture.

Vanessa Black

11. The wick, often dipped in kerosene or alcohol, is lit before tossing the molotov cocktail.

Vanessa Black

12. Ukraine's protests lasted from November 2013 through February 2014, leading participants to be increasingly creative in building defense.

Vanessa Black

13. Protesters used shields, as well as clubs and bats ornamented with nails.

Vanessa Black

14. Here's a member of the self-defense unit sporting a dagger.

Vanessa Black

15. This member of the self-defense unit is constructing a homemade bazooka.

Vanessa Black

To see more of Vanessa Black's work, check out her website and follow her on Twitter.