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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
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Rosaleen Fenton & edinburghlive Administrator

Ukrainian woman vows to fight after 'downing Russian drone with jar of tomatoes'

A Ukrainian woman who brought down a Russian drone with a jar of tomatoes in a defiant act has vowed to stay in the country and fight.

News site Liga.net.ua spoke to the woman - known only as Elena - who is part of a spirited group taking a stand against Russia.

She told reporters that she was sitting on the balcony of her flat in Kyiv smoking when the drone suddenly appeared.

READ MORE: Edinburgh grandad who joined Ukrainian forces fighting Russia is ex-Hibs casual

In a bid to halt the device, she threw a jar of canned tomatoes and plums stored under her chair, to halt the device in case it fired at her.

Incredibly, she knocked it out the air - and a legend was born, as a rumour claiming she'd neutralised the device with a cucumber went viral on social media, according to the Mirror.

Elena and her husband distributed the remnants of the drone in a number of bins, in case the device could be tracked.

They also cleared up glass fragments so their neighbour's dogs wouldn't risk suffering from cuts on their paws.

She told the paper she thinks the device was operated by looters looking for empty flats to enter and steal from.

Elena added that she decided "instantly" that she wouldn't be leaving Kyiv after Russia invaded the country, and no regrets about staying as she pledged to fight.

Her story was first shared by Liubov Tsybulska, an advisor to the Ukrainian government, who tweeted about the incident.

She wrote: "In Kyiv a woman knocked down a Russian drone from a balcony with a jar of cucumbers. How did they expect to occupy this country?"

The tale quickly went viral, with one man replying: "Pickles are an excellent probiotic on the microscale and an anti-drone weapon on the macro scale. Don't mess with Ukrainian Grandmas."

Another added: "My mother used to make scones that could maim at 100 yards and kill at 50. I’ll have to look up the recipe."

It comes after Edinburgh Live reported how a capital grandad had travelled to Ukraine to join the country's international legion standing against Russian forces.

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In a video posted online, Rab Grady, understood to be from Niddrie, launched an appeal for volunteers to take up arms and join him in defending Ukraine from the Kremlin-backed military campaign.

The 61-year-old builder brandished an assault rifle while wearing a flak jacket as he delivered the message to those back home and Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to the camera, Mr Grady says: "I've travelled to Ukraine to help Ukraine fight the Russians. I'll do anything I can in my power to save Ukraine from Putin.

"Anybody in the world, please Ukraine. They need everybody to help. Volunteers, please."

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