HS in Ukraine Captain Kuittinen’s secret weapon was used again: a picture defaming Putin is printed on the label of Molotov’s cocktails at a brewery

Lviv

I didn’t think so know the captain Receipt in 1939, how far-reaching the effects of the simple weapon he developed, the Molotov cocktail, would have. During the Finnish Winter War, hundreds of Soviet tanks were destroyed with Kuittinen’s fuel bottles.

Now the same weapon is being used again against Russian soldiers in Ukraine’s own winter war. History repeats itself.

In the industrial area On the outskirts of the city of Lviv Taras Maselko carry fire bottle boxes at a brewery.

“Hopefully we can make it better than the Finns,” Maselko answers the question of whether Ukraine will be able to destroy as many Russian tanks as the Finns in the Winter War.

Before the Russian invasion, Maselko did not know the history of the birth of the Molotov cocktail, but with the manufacture of the fuel bottles, Captain Kuittinen’s weapon has become very familiar to the man.

Molotov cocktail was already used before the Winter War, at least in the Spanish Civil War, but the weapon got its international name from the then Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotovista and the perverted sense of humor of Finns.

According to Soviet propaganda, the Russians delivered bread baskets to Finland by air during the war, which was a morbid designation for the bombing. Reciprocally, the Finns named the fire bottles a piece of the button, according to Foreign Minister Molotov.

Maselkon the primary wish is peace and an end to hostilities. In the meantime, he wants to prepare for the arrival of the Russians. The old brewery has already made 2,000 Molotov cocktails in three days. According to Maselko, the fuel bottles go mainly to roadblocks.

Lviv is in the very westernmost part of Ukraine, the furthest from the Russian occupation forces. Fuel cylinders are manufactured all over the country. It is not known how many Molotov cocktails have been made in this war. It is probably tens or hundreds of thousands of bottles.

Bottles for cocktails in sacks. Picture: Rio Gandara / HS

“We have trained people to use fuel bottles and learned from the Finnish Winter War. The purpose is to throw the bottle into the air intakes of the tanks so that the flames are absorbed into the engines of the tanks. ”

Maselko presents a burner bottle with a patch of cloth as the igniter. The difference with the Finnish Winter War incandescent bottle is, among other things, that there was a lighter on the side of the bottle made in Rajamäki, Finland.

The bottle contains petrol, oil and paint, which makes the combustible material more sticky. In Finland, tar was also placed in the bottle.

There is also a difference on the label: now the Russian president is depicted on the side of the bottle Vladimir Putinholding a bomb in his right hand.

“Putin huylo, ”The label reads. Putin is a dick.

Taras Maselko presents the label of fuel bottles. Picture: Rio Gandara / HS

Finished Molotov cocktails lined up. Picture: Rio Gandara / HS

Maselko wants to show proudly in his mobile phone the figures reported by the country on the losses of the Russians. According to the Ukrainians, 217 Russian tanks had already been destroyed in the battle. The information cannot be verified. And not how many of the tanks have been destroyed by Captain Kuittinen’s secret weapon.

Russia’s military has been described as well developed in some respects. In addition to nuclear weapons, Russia has, among other things, hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to combat due to their enormous speed. Warfare also involves hacking and other attacks on telecommunications.

It is therefore perhaps surprising that the war against Russia is being waged with the same simple weapons as in the Finnish Winter War of 1939–1940.

“In this century, we usually expect war from the sky in the form of air strikes or missiles. I still believe that with these Molotov cocktails we can change the course of the war, ”says Maselko.

In Ukraine, assault rifles have been distributed to the public with a loose hand, and the authorities have circulated instructions for making fuel bottles. Critics say there is a danger that Russian troops will also target civilians as a result.

“What’s the difference? Even now, the Russians are firing on civilian targets. We are ready to do everything we can to drive the occupiers out of our country. ”

Taras Maselko piled fireboxes on the wall of a brewery in Lviv. Picture: Rio Gandara / HS