The spread of resistance has eroded the Kremlin’s control over these areas and threatened its plans to hold referendums in several cities as a move toward annexation by Russia. “Our goal is to make life unbearable for the Russian occupiers and use any means to derail their plans,” said Andriy, a 32-year-old coordinator of the rebel movement in the southern Kherson region. A member of the Zhovta Strichka — or “Yellow Ribbon” — resistance group, Andriy spoke to The Associated Press on the condition that he not be fully identified to avoid detection by the Russians. The group takes its name from one of Ukraine’s two national colors, and its members use ribbons of that hue to mark potential targets for rebel attacks. Ukrainian troops recently used a US-supplied multiple rocket launcher known as HIMARS to strike a strategic bridge over the Dnieper River in Kherson, cutting the Russians’ main supply link. The city of 500,000, which was seized by Russian troops early in the war, has been flooded with resistance leaflets threatening Moscow-backed officials. Shortly before the attack on the bridge, leaflets appeared that read: “If CHEIMARS does not succeed, a partisan will help.” “We give the Ukrainian military precise coordinates for various targets, and the help of the rebels makes the new long-range weapons, especially the HIMARS, even more powerful,” Andrii told the AP. “We are invisible behind Russian lines and that is our strength.” As Ukrainian forces step up offensives in the region and retake some areas west of the Dnieper River, rebel activity has also increased. They coordinate with the Ukrainian military’s Special Operations Forces, which helps them develop strategies and tactics. These forces also select targets and create a website with tips on how to organize resistance, prepare ambushes and evade capture. A network of weapons depots and secret hideouts was created in occupied territories. Bombs have been planted near administrative buildings, in employees’ homes, and even on their routes to work. An explosive planted in a tree detonated as a vehicle carrying Kherson prison chief Yevgeny Sobolev passed by, although he survived the attack. A police vehicle was hit by shrapnel, seriously injuring two police officers, one of whom was later killed. The deputy head of the local administration in Nova Kakhovka died of injuries after being shot over the weekend. Rebels have repeatedly tried to kill Vladimir Saldo, the head of the Russian-backed interim administration of the Kherson region, offering a 1 million hryvnia (about $25,000) cash reward. His aide, Pavel Slobodchikov, was shot and killed in his vehicle, and another official, Dmytry Savluchenko, was killed by a car bomb. The attacks prompted Moscow to send anti-rebel units to Kherson, Saldo said. “Every day, special units from Russia find two or three caches of weapons for terrorist activities,” Saldo said on his messaging app’s channel. “Arms confiscation helps reduce the threat of sabotage.” At the beginning of the occupation, thousands of residents held peaceful demonstrations. But the Russian military quickly dispersed them and arrested activists, radicalizing the resistance. Wedding photographer-turned-activist Oleksandr Kharchikov, 41, from Skadovsk, said he was beaten and tortured after being arrested in a Russian security sweep. “The Russians tortured me for a long time. They beat me with a baseball bat, pinched my fingers with pliers and tortured me with electric shocks,” Kharchikov said in a telephone interview. “I had a concussion and a broken rib, but I didn’t give them any information and that saved me.” Kharchikov spent 155 days under Russian occupation before escaping. “The repressions are intensifying. They are creating unbearable conditions for Ukrainians, making it increasingly difficult to survive under Russian occupation,” he told the AP. The Russians offered 10,000 rubles ($165) to anyone applying for Russian citizenship to boost their influence in the region, he said. Moscow introduced the ruble, set up Russian mobile phone networks and cut off Ukrainian television in the region. Giant screens showing Russian TV broadcasts have been placed in the main squares of the cities. Melitopol mayor Ivan Fedorov, who also spent a long time in Russian captivity, told the AP that about 500 Ukrainian activists were detained, and many were tortured. Some disappeared for months after their arrest. In May and June, rebels blew up two railway bridges in Melitopol and derailed two Russian military trains, Fedorov said. “The resistance movement pursues three goals — to destroy Russian weapons and their means of supply, to discredit and intimidate the occupiers and their collaborators, and to inform Ukrainian special services about the enemy’s positions,” he added. Russia responded by stepping up patrols and conducting regular sweeps for those suspected of links to rebels. During such raids, they check phones and arrest those with Ukrainian symbols or photos of relatives in military uniforms. “In a cleanup operation, the Russians seal off the entire neighborhood, stop traffic to and from it, and methodically go from one apartment to another. If they find any Ukrainian symbols or any link with the Ukrainian military, they put all the family members in an infiltration camp,” Fedorov said. “At best, they tell people: ‘Get out of here if you are against Russia,’ but it also happens that some people disappear,” he said. Of Melitopolis’ pre-war population of 150,000, more than 60,000 people have left. Pro-Moscow officials are preparing for a possible referendum on Melitopol and other occupied territories joining Russia by conducting security raids and handing out Russian passports, Fedorov said. “We will prevent the Russian referendum. We will not allow voting under the barrels of Russian guns,” he said, adding that no more than 10% of the population sympathized with Moscow and half had fled. Insurgents have tied yellow ribbons to the buildings where voting will take place, warning residents that they may be targeted by bombs during the vote. Resistance ranges from radical activists to teachers and pensioners who sing Ukrainian songs in parks and secretly wear yellow and blue ribbons. “The Russians expected to be met with flowers, but they were faced with the fact that most people consider themselves Ukrainians and are ready to show resistance in various forms — from gathering intelligence to burning and blowing up the invaders,” Oleksii said Aleksandrov. who had a restaurant in the southern port of Mariupol. In a recent gesture of defiance in Mariupol, a young man draped in a Ukrainian flag stood on a street next to the theater destroyed by Russian bombs. The photo was circulated in Ukrainian media and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed him in a speech to the nation. “It was a very brave thing to do and I would like to thank him for his action,” Zelensky said. “This man is one of many people who are waiting for the return of Ukraine and will not accept the occupation under any circumstances.” Although pro-Moscow sentiment is strong in Ukraine’s predominantly Russian-speaking industrial heartland, the Donbass, a guerrilla movement has also emerged there. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Heidai said six Russian soldiers were injured last month when their vehicle was blown up by rebels in the city of Severodonetsk shortly after it was seized. They have also targeted railroads, disrupting shipments of Russian ammunition and other supplies. “The rebels acted quite successfully,” Heidai told the AP. “They have not only distributed leaflets. They have also destroyed infrastructure facilities. It helps a lot in slowing down Russian attacks and advances.” Observers say the guerrilla movement varies by region and that it is in both sides’ interests to exaggerate its scope. “The Russians are doing this to justify their crackdowns on the occupied territories, while the Ukrainians seek to demoralize Russian forces and extol their victories,” said Vadim Karashev, head of the Kyiv-based Institute for Global Strategies. “It’s hard to believe stories about Ukrainians feeding Russian soldiers poisoned cakes, but sometimes myths work better than facts.”
Yuras Karmanau reported from Tallinn, Estonia.
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