From beer to Molotov cocktails - the Ukraine brewery producing petrol bombs in fight against Russia

A closed brewery in Ukraine is bolstering its troops' defence against the Russians by turning their production from beer to Molotov cocktails.

Pravda brewery, in the western city of Lviv, says it has churned out and shipped "thousands" of the homemade incendiary devices around the city in the last three days to shore up local defence teams in anticipation of a potential Russian attack.

When word spread about what they were doing, people from all over the city turned up with bags of empty beer bottles so they could be filled with flammable liquid, said Public Relations Director Taras Maselko.

The bottles' label depicts a picture of a naked Vladimir Putin, sitting on a chair surrounded by tanks, bombs and vehicles covered in blood.

The wording on the sticker reads: "Putin Huilo" which translates to "Putin d***head" - a beer they first brewed in 2014 following the Russian annexation of Crimea, explained Taras.

In the seven days since Moscow launched its invasion, cities across Ukraine have been targeted with shelling, while the second-largest, Kharkiv, is suffering a sustained attack with hundreds of casualties.

"We provided the local Territorial Defence with cocktails to be prepared in case the Russian soldiers and tanks come here"

The brewery said it wanted to make sure the citizens and troops of their city were ready if Russian forces close in.

"Three days ago we started from this bottle just to do something because the brewery is closed," Taras said holding up a Molotov cocktail.

"We produced quite a lot - thousands. And actually we provided the local Territorial Defence [forces] with the cocktails just to be prepared in case the Russian soldiers and Russian tanks come here.

"We also shipped ones to Kyiv and the different other cities where they needed to stand against the military techniques."

A Molotov cocktail, also known as a petrol bomb, is a breakable glass bottle containing flammable substances.

Aware their widely publicised efforts could make them a target, production has now moved to a new site aware from the location that once hosted music festivals.

Meanwhile, rows and rows of the same bottles – this time filled with beer – lined the shelves of the empty Pravda Beer Theatre Bar in central Lviv on Tuesday, as a ban on the sale of alcohol anywhere in the city came into effect.