Ukraine arms citizens with machine guns as Russians soldiers advance into Kyiv

Ukraine has armed its citizens with machine guns in a bid to protect themselves and the country from her Russian enemies.

BBC reports that her correspondents on the streets of Kyiv saw Ukrainian civilians now bearing arms to protect their country.

According to the report men in trainers and jeans with rifles slung across their backs man checkpoints, and hidden in the trees on the side of the road are other young volunteers lying on the ground behind anti-tank weapons.

As we push on further we find professional soldiers braced for a last stand. They are accompanied by Ukrainian artillery and tanks facing the Russian position, less than 30km from the heart of the capital.

And we soon find signs of the battle drawing even nearer with a truck ablaze in the middle of the road.

Around the corner, my colleague Abdujalil Abdurasulov and I find Olena’s family, a group of five.

They’ve got a flat tyre at the worst possible time. They frantically try to change it as they bundle a baby into the back seat.

“We’re really afraid”, Olena’s mother tells us, before another loud bang silences everyone.