As the world’s second largest military power, Russia may have imagined that invading Ukraine would be a deal breaker in a matter of days. It was without counting on a formidable weapon (much more psychologically than physically): the Molotov cocktail. Last Friday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published on its Facebook page this message: “We ask citizens to inform us of enemy movements, make Molotov cocktails, neutralize the occupier! “.
During the day, the page devoted to the Molotov cocktail of Wikipedia Ukraine had 60,000 views and became the second most read on the platform, notes Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, administrator of the Wikimedia France association. In the process, citizens publish videos and images on social networks in which they show themselves in the process of making the famous homemade weapons. In Lviv, a brewery has even stopped making beer to produce this famous cocktail. Could this weapon consisting of a simple glass bottle filled with flammable liquid really put the Russians back?
The Molotov cocktail, a symbolic story
The Molotov cocktail is a bit like the anti-Russian weapon par excellence. The first appeared during the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939 and it was General Franco’s nationalists who launched them against Soviet tanks. The technique was then taken up by the Finns during the Winter War in 1939. Again against Soviet tanks. It is they who name this weapon, in reference to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union Vyacheslav Molotov. The latter had assured that the USSR was not bombing Finland, but was sending food aid. Civilians then ironically called these bombs “Molotov picnic baskets” and called their flammable projectiles “Molotov cocktails”.
In Ukraine, civilians have decided not to give the Russians the honor of having a weapon in their name and have renamed Molotov cocktails “Bandera smoothies”. A tribute to Stepan Andriïovytch Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist engaged in the 20th century in the struggle for the independence of Ukraine against Poland and the Soviet Union, but also leader of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The announcement was also made officially by the mayor of Lviv.
The Molotov cocktail, weapon of the people
The Ukrainian government has called for the manufacture of Molotov cocktails in order to “mobilize the entire population”, according to Jean-Pierre Maulny, deputy director of the Institute for International and Strategic Relations (Iris), responsible for studies related to Europe defence, NATO and the arms industry. Not everyone has a gun, however, anyone can make a Molotov cocktail as long as they have a glass bottle, a flammable liquid such as gasoline, a piece of fabric to make a wick and a lighter to light it (then an arm to throw it).
“It’s a demonstration weapon, that of the poor, it’s not even really a weapon for that matter”, concedes the expert. Thus on Facebook, we can see Ukrainians like Alexander P., pipe maker, filming his cellar filled with Molotov cocktails ready to be sent on Russian armored vehicles. “All citizens can participate, even those who cannot be mobilized”, explains Jean-Pierre Maulny, for whom the message is extremely strong.
The Molotov cocktail, the deterrent weapon
If the Ukrainian government addressed its citizens, the message was and still is intended for the Russians. “It’s a very strong element of communication. A way of saying that all citizens are armed and ready to defend themselves,” explains Jean-Pierre Maulny. A black spot for Vladimir Putin. In the face of new weapon technologies, Molotov cocktails will not measure up, as was the case during the Second World War. “On the other hand, these cocktails mean that Vladimir Putin, who assured that he would only have military targets, will have to “pass” over civilians to take the country”, advances Jean-Pierre Maulny. Which, no doubt, would further isolate the Russian president.
This call for molotov cocktails “has a deterrent effect”, assures the deputy director of Iris for whom the political aspect is more important than military strategy. Even if the war that is being played out between Ukraine and Russia is perfectly asymmetrical due to the difference in military means, this absolutely does not mean that the game is over. “In Afghanistan and Iraq, the American army ended up yielding to IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices), homemade bombs,” compares Jean-Pierre Maulny. Finally, the Molotov cocktail could be just as deterrent as the nuclear threat wielded by Vladimir Putin.