'We are resisting' - Ukrainian MP Kira Rudik says her country will fight as 'we are the good guys'

Kira Rudik speaks to ITV News from Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukrainian MP, Kira Rudik, has told ITV News that she will bear arms and fight for her country.

Rudik is the leader of Ukraine's Voice Party, the opposition to Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party which is currently in power.

The MP joined Ukraine's political spectrum in 2019, championing the right for the country to be a state for the people, peace and security.

Once a critic of Zelenskyy's politics, Rudik says she now firmly stands behind him as he is doing 'what a president should do'.

She spurred international reaction overnight on Friday, after posting a picture of herself holding a Kalashnikov rifle on Twitter.

Speaking from Kyiv, Rudik told ITV news that she is 'afraid' of the current situation in Ukraine, but most of all is angry at Putin and the Russian invasion.

"I'm so angry right now. I'm a woman, I have to bear arms and fight the tyrannies of those who want to take what is ours.

"That they would come and try to throw me away from my house, that would scare my family and then change the way that my country works - and when you are very angry, there is no place for the fear.

"When you are very angry, there is no place for the fear, I will be afraid afterwards. Right now I will have to get very strong, train and make sure that we have all of the supplies we need."

When asked about whether she will use her rifle, Rudik said she will use it 'if she has to'.

"I'm training to use. I will use it if I have to. This is what most Ukrainians do. We are getting ready to resist and we are resisting.

"Putin thought he could take Ukraine in just one day. We look at that. He was not able to take any major cities. There are 3 thousand Russian soldiers that are down right now and we will be fighting back as hard as possible.

"We will not retreat, we will show the world what the Ukrainian nation is capable of."

Her words come as skirmishes broke out in Ukraine's capital this morning, with street fighting breaking out as russian troops near Kyiv.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed similar thoughts this morning in a recorded video in downtown Kyiv.

"We aren't going to lay down weapons. We will protect the country." He said. "Our weapon is our truth, and our truth is that it is our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of that."

Rudik added that she firmly believes Ukraine are ' the good guys'.

"In the story about bad guys and good guys, we definitely know that we are the good guys.

"And I hope, and I believe that the good guys always win. So that is what our plan is, to win. Because we are the good guys."

Rudik warned other nations that the change that is happening is 'not just about Ukraine'.

She urged world leaders to pay attention to Putin's actions, asking them to take him seriously.

"Is there any force in the world right now that can stop Putin?

"I thought that this force would be the United States, Britain, Germany and maybe, France. But what I know now is that this force is Ukraine. We will fight him back to Russia, and then a little further, just to make it even for the children who are learning what the sirens mean."