:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/dd9587b6-9b0b-11ec-9b98-0255c322e81b.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1 "Five questions about the Molotov cocktail: how effective is the “smoothie from Lviv”? † Inland")
What exactly is a Molotov cocktail?
Making Molotov cocktails is not that difficult. With a glass bottle, a wick and some flammable liquid (such as alcohol or petrol) you can go a long way. This is also the reason the bombs come in so many different shapes and sizes. Tar or dishwashing liquid is often added so that the substance burns longer and sticks to the target.
The military handbook of Defense used to describe a Molotov cocktail as a self-igniting incendiary bomb filled with phosphorus. Nowadays every incendiary bomb in a bottle is called a Molotov cocktail.
When was the Molotov first used?
During the Spanish Civil War, General Franco’s troops used these weapons to harass the tanks of the Republicans. They had received their tanks from the Soviet Union, as a sign of solidarity. The combustible concoction worked so well that the Soviet soldiers got it on their ears in other wars in the years that followed.
Where does the name come from?
The same Soviet Union invaded Finland in 1939. Russian Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov said on national radio that the hungry Finns were pelted with food parcels by the air force. In reality, the Soviet Union was bombing Finland non-stop. As a joke, the Finnish soldiers called their homemade firebombs Molotov cocktails, “to drink with the food parcels.”
The Ukrainians think the name is too Russian and have come up with a new name themselves: the ‘Lviv smoothie’. Many students live in the border town of Lviv, who have now converted a nightclub into a ‘smoothie factory’.
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In Ukraine, residents are engaged in Molotov cocktails.
Ⓒ ANP
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Is the cocktail effective?
In the past, these incendiary bombs were very effective. Throwing them on the tracks and vantage points of tanks kept them going. Today, the flaming cocktails are still widely used in armed conflicts. However, they are a lot less effective against modern war vehicles. They are simply too well armored.
That is why the Ukrainians now add Styrofoam to the combustible mixture. This creates a kind of napalm, the life-threatening mix with which the American army bombed the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. With this, the residents of Kiev hope to keep the Russian vehicles at a distance.
Why is he so popular?
The Molotov cocktail is cheap, effective and easy to make. Especially in areas where civilians decide to take up arms, the Molotov quickly becomes the most practical option. The Ukrainians are also trying to eliminate the Russian tanks in this way. Time will tell whether they are as successful as the Spaniards and Finns.
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