“Our goal is to make life unbearable for the Russian occupiers and to use all means to thwart their plans,” said Andriy, a 32-year-old coordinator of the guerrilla movement in the Kherson region. Andrij is a member of a resistance group called Žovta strička (Yellow Ribbon). The movement derives its name from one of the two national colors of Ukraine, and its members use ribbons of this color to mark potential guerrilla targets.
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Recently, according to AP, bombs have appeared near administrative buildings, at the homes of officials or on the roads where they go to work. For example, an explosive placed on a tree exploded some time ago when a vehicle with the head of the Kherson prison administration Yevhen Sobolev was passing by, he survived the attack. On the other hand, on the weekend, the deputy head of the local administration in Nová Kachovce died as a result of being shot.
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Local guerrilla fighters also repeatedly tried to kill the head of the Moscow-appointed regional administration, Volodymyr (in Russian Vladimir) Salda, the agency noted. His assistant was shot dead in his vehicle, and another official, Dmytro (Dmitrije) Savluchenko, was killed by a car bomb.
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According to Saldo, the attacks prompted Moscow to send anti-guerrilla units to Kherson. “Every day, special forces from Russia uncover two or three caches of weapons intended for terrorist activities,” Saldo claimed on the social network. “The confiscation of weapons helps reduce the threat of sabotage,” he added.
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“We give the Ukrainian army the exact coordinates of various targets, and thanks to the help of the guerrillas, the new long-range weapons, especially the HIMARS, are even more powerful,” Andrij continues, adding: “We are invisible behind Russian lines, and that is our strength.”
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Ukrainian troops recently used the US HIMARS system and hit a strategic bridge on the Dnieper River in Kherson, cutting off the Russians’ main supply link. According to the AP, the city, which was occupied by the Russian invasion forces at the beginning of the war, was flooded with resistance leaflets that threaten the officials installed by Russia. Just before the Ukrainian attack on the bridge, leaflets appeared saying: “If HIMARS can’t do it, guerrillas will.”
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At the same time, as the Ukrainian armed forces intensify their attacks in the region and regain some places west of the Dnieper, the activity of the partisans also increases, AP writes. According to her, they coordinate with Ukrainian special operations forces, which help them develop strategies and tactics. They select targets and have even created a website with tips on how to organize resistance, plan ambushes and evade arrest. A network of weapons hiding places and secret caches has emerged in the occupied regions, the agency writes.
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Russia responded by stepping up patrols and regular inspections of Ukrainians suspected of links to the guerrillas. During raids, they check phones and arrest people with Ukrainian symbols or photos of relatives in military uniforms, AP reports.
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According to observers, the guerrilla movement varies from region to region and it is in the interest of both sides to exaggerate its extent. “The Russians are doing this to justify their repression in the occupied territories, while the Ukrainians are trying to demoralize the Russian forces and glorify their victories,” says Vadym Karasev from the Institute of Global Studies in Kyiv.
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