Ukrainian politicians are taking up arms to help repel the Russian invasion.

鈥淲e work as a shield for Europe,鈥� member of Ukrainian parliament Kira Rudik told 麻豆传媒 Channel鈥檚 Power Play on Monday. 鈥淚f we fail, there will be no European Union.鈥�

Rudik leads Ukraine鈥檚 liberal and pro-Europe , which is advocating for full EU and NATO membership. The day after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a brutal attack on Ukraine, Rudik .

鈥淚t was the first time in my life where I was even holding a gun,鈥� Rudik said from Kyiv, Ukraine鈥檚 capital. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 fired [it] except for training, and I hope that I will never have to鈥攂ut I need to know that I will be ready to protect my family, my house, my city and my country.鈥�

The Ukrainian military has distributed thousands of weapons to civilians, who are also preparing Molotov cocktails, tearing down road signs and even standing in the way of armoured vehicles in an inspiring show of opposition that has so far kept its powerful neighbour from seizing the country and Kyiv, a city of nearly three million people.

鈥淭his didn鈥檛 happen magically itself,鈥� Rudik said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a result of the constant resistance of Ukrainian people who bore arms and who are right now protecting their city.鈥�

For her part, Rudik has assembled a militia composed of parliamentarians, party members and military veterans of the war against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, which broke out in 2014.

The former tech executive spoke to Power Play as Russian forces reportedly amassed outside Kyiv, for what many fear will be a vicious siege. Using the chaos of continued airstrikes as cover, Rudik says Kyiv is now being infiltrated by small groups of Russian soldiers who are probing the city鈥檚 defences.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why the city needs resistance crews like I have assembled, and many other people have assembled, who are armed and who are able to go and check what鈥檚 going on, because our army cannot close all the small doors that the entrances to the city look like,鈥� she explained.

Despite the stiff resistance, Rudik says she still fears what lengths Russia鈥檚 nuclear-armed 鈥渄ictator鈥� will go to conquer her democratic country and destabilize the planet.

鈥淗e鈥檚 crazy and unpredictable,鈥� she warned. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just like Hitler, but without the moustache.鈥�

Lesia Vasylenko is also a parliamentarian with Ukraine鈥檚 small opposition Holos party, which won 20 out of 450 seats in Ukraine's last election.

鈥淚 am one of the members of parliament who has always been against weapons being distributed to the civilian population,鈥� Vasylenko told 麻豆传媒 Channel from the outskirts of Kyiv on Monday. 鈥淏ut today I hold an AK-47.鈥�

Vasylenko says reports of Russian attacks on civilian targets like schools, hospitals and homes have only strengthened Ukrainians鈥� resolve to fight back.

鈥淲e are fighting for our freedom and we are fighting for our very existence, and I think it comes as a shock to the Russian army, and it comes as a shock to the Russian president,鈥� Vasylenko said. 鈥淩ussia must be stopped right now, because otherwise they will continue and their aggression will extend not just to Ukraine, but to the whole of eastern Europe and beyond.鈥�

To Vasylenko, to defend Ukraine is her duty as a parliamentarian鈥攁nd also a 鈥渘ecessity.鈥�

鈥淚 have three children, I have two elderly parents鈥擨 have things to lose,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I also have things to gain. I have to gain my freedom and my independence, and also the freedom and independence for the future of my children. So, this is why I hold the gun in complete readiness to use it, to use it against the aggressor, who is now raising the stakes and breaking my country apart.鈥�