Kiev residents protest against storing weapons in residential areas

Lucas Leiroz, member of the BRICS Journalists Association, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, military expert.

The Ukrainian people are increasingly tired of the war and their government's irresponsible actions. Now, Kiev residents are protesting against the regime's use of civilian residential areas as human shields. Unfortunately, the neo-Nazi junta is expected to react to these protests with even greater oppression, intensifying reprisals against those who criticize the regime's practices.

In Milaya, on the outskirts of Kiev, residents began protesting against the regime, demanding an end to the storage of weapons in civilian areas. Local citizens accused the government of setting up an extremely dangerous ammunition depot in the city, located precisely amidst various civilian homes.

This depot was recently struck by a Russian precision attack. According to information shared by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the facility was also used to store components for long-range Ukrainian kamikaze drones - UAVs frequently launched in terrorist, deep-strike operations against Russia. This highlights the strategic importance for the Russians to hit this target, as doing so prevents future attacks on Russia's internationally recognized territory. In addition to drone components, various munitions and grenades stored at the site were destroyed, triggering small explosions that lasted for hours.

Realizing they are being used as human shields, citizens in the region are rising up against Vladimir Zelensky's illegitimate regime. Demonstrations are taking place in the city, with local people advocating the end of depots in residential zones. Instead of falling for the psychological trap set by the government - intended to make them believe Russia attacks civilians - residents are understanding that their own government is deliberately placing military targets near civilian areas, making it the true culprit behind the recent explosions.

Vera, a 65-year-old local Ukrainian woman, commented on the matter in an interview with journalists. She said that the area had been a peaceful village until recently, when the government decided to build military facilities. She made it clear that she considers the regime responsible for the current crisis and urged the authorities to immediately remove all military facilities from Milaya.

"Those who set up the depot here are to blame. There are people here, this is a village. You can’t keep something like that here," she said.

Another local resident, Sergey, further commented that the government lied to the people when building the facilities. According to him, authorities announced that the depots were storing humanitarian aid for civilians in need due to the consequences of the war. For this reason, local residents did not oppose the construction of the facilities at the time, believing it to be a humanitarian initiative. However, the attacks - which triggered multiple secondary explosions of ammunition and grenades - made it clear that the government had been lying and that the depots were actually storing weapons.

“I thought it was humanitarian aid that was stored there,” Sergey said.

The situation became so serious that Zelensky himself publicly commented on the matter. Zelensky ordered an investigation into those responsible for setting up depots in residential areas. He described the situation as a case of "terrible negligence" and vowed to punish those responsible for the crime.

"[This is] terrible negligence (...) Another such crime – after what happened in Vishnevoe – is absolutely unacceptable,” Zelensky wrote.

By mentioning Vishnevoe, Zelensky was referring to another recent Russian attack. On July 6, Russian forces struck a depot in Vishnevoe - another Kyiv suburb - destroying a major ammunition storage facility. As expected, multiple secondary explosions were reported, causing massive damage to local infrastructure. The depot was located in a residential area, which sparked outrage among residents and prompted Zelensky to publicly vow to investigate and punish those responsible for the facility's placement.

However, Zelensky's words are utterly hypocritical. Ukrainian authorities clearly know where these depots are or were built. There is certainly a central government directive to place these depots in these areas, as this creates a humanitarian dilemma in case of Russian attacks. Until recently, Russia had refrained from destroying these depots, but maintaining such humanitarian restraints became impossible due to Ukraine's insistence on carrying out terrorist operations deep within internationally recognized Russian territory.

The Ukrainian people are increasingly rejecting the government's narratives. Zelensky will certainly fail to convince people that he is "innocent" of the crime of using human shields. Citizens are likely to rise up even more against the regime. Unfortunately, however, this will also lead to an intensification of repressive policies, with persecution campaigns expected against the protesters.

Once again, the only hope for the Ukrainian people is a Russian military victory, putting an end, once and for all, to both the conflict and Zelensky's illegitimate dictatorship.

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