Europe
In Western Ukraine, cities are not yet under attack, or being shelled, by Russian forces.
But all of Ukraine is on a war footing, and the militarization of the general population is most visible in the thousands of civilians who are enlisting and training as part of ad hoc security forces.
They perform a wide array of surveillance and policing duties while other law enforcement officers head to the front.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Most have never held a gun, save for the hunting enthusiasts among them.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Ukrainian men arrive to sign their contracts and officially become members of Territorial Defense Forces.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Territorial Defense Forces members take part in combat training in an industrial space outside Lviv, Ukraine.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Ostap Prostak, an architect, joined in the first days of the war.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Taras Radionoff was a security guard. With about a dozen others, he recently participated in rigorous tactical training led by the city of Lviv’s territorial defense force, which is composed mostly of civilians.
Volunteers search trains or patrol after curfew. Many are given parts of military uniforms but need to buy supplementary items such as pads or boots.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
At the main registration center for volunteers in Lviv, the line to sign up was hundreds deep on a recent day. Thousands have joined, and others are on reserve lists.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Local members of the civilian defense in Ryasne, Lviv, patrol the streets in their neighborhoods after curfew.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Getting the call means putting regular life on pause to beef up Ukraine’s back line in case fighting moves west.
A month ago, Volodymyr Marusiak ran a law firm. He remembers posing in his office then, but wearing a suit and tie. He now commands 140 territorial defense recruits.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Volodymyr Marusiak, an attorney, is now the head of the Sotnia military unit of territorial defense in Lviv.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Sergij Poltava, right, Ivan Plawny, left and Taras Maly, center, joined on Day 6 of the Russian invasion.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
The transformation in people’s lives and businesses sometimes feels near total. Lesya Hnatkevych used to teach his metallurgy students how to make barbecue trays and ironclad fencing.
Now, they produce “hedgehogs” — spiky antitank obstacles made of metal beams that serve as easy-to-deploy roadblocks.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Stefan Syutruk, right, senior foreman and teacher in the technical school, now uses the workshop to make antitank obstacles known as hedgehogs.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Teacher Lesya Hnatkevych works on hedgehogs.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Completed hedgehogs used to block cars from driving through at the checkpoints are waiting for transportation.
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
Kasia Strek/Panos for The Washington Post
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Credits
Photo editing and production by Morgan Coates and Olivier Laurent