Shelby Talcott
February 23, 2022
-Daily Caller
Ukraine’s parliament voted Wednesday to approve a draft law allowing its citizens to carry firearms and defend themselves after Russia sent troops into two parts of eastern Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized two separatist-controlled Ukrainian territories Monday – a move that President Joe Biden dubbed as “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” during remarks Tuesday.
After the Biden administration and allies announced a “first tranche” of sanctions against Russia, Ukraine’s parliament met to vote on a law that would allow its citizens to act in self-defense and carry firearms.
“The adoption of this law is fully in the interests of the state and society,” the draft law’s authors said in a note, according to Reuters.
The authors declared the draft law necessary due to “existing threats and dangers for the citizens of Ukraine,” Reuters added. The law was approved “in the first reading,” the news outlet reported.
Biden previously said the administration believes Putin plans to attack Kyiv, the capitol of Ukraine. Putin delivered a lengthy anti-Ukraine speech earlier in the week where he claimed “modern-day Ukraine was in full and in whole created by Russia.”
“To put it simply, Russia just announced that it is carving out a big chunk of Ukraine,” Biden said in response to Putin’s actions. “If we listen to his speech last night … he’s setting up a rationale to go much further. This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
