It is comparable to what the Taliban did successfully in Afghanistan, says Kitzen, who himself served as a former soldier in Uruzgan, among other places. “It also forces Russia to secure key figures, which costs military capabilities that they cannot deploy elsewhere.”
liquidated
The city administrator, Dmitry Savlutchenko, who was liquidated on Friday, was not the first partisan target. Earlier, a pro-Russian activist and a pro-Russian blogger were killed. A “defected” member of the Ukrainian parliament has been targeted, although his condition is unclear, and the Russian-appointed mayors of Enerhodar and Melitopol have survived likely attacks on their lives. The Russian-appointed governor of Chernobaevka and the head of the Kherson prisons were also attacked.
Although they were appointed by Russia and may therefore also have collaborated with the Russian army, that is simply not allowed under the law of war, says lawyer Zwanenburg. “You are not allowed to attack civilians, unless they themselves participate in hostilities. For example, if you attack a mayor, it is a war crime.”
Incidentally, Russia is guilty of violations of the laws of war on a much larger scale: countless cases of violence against civilians have now been reported.
fake mayor
It is unknown how large and organized the Ukrainian partisan resistance is. It is possible that the Ukrainian military is involved. The resistance is in any case encouraged from the Ukrainian government: so praised the fugitive mayor of Melitopol yesterday paid $10,000 for the death of that city’s Russian-appointed “fake mayor”. The previous pro-Russian mayor has reportedly resigned after a bomb attack near her home.
In eight cases, NOS verified images of partisan actions, confirming the location of the images. The facts, however, are virtually impossible to verify, nor can it be verified that the actions were carried out by partisans.
However, that these groups are active, including attacking pro-Russian government officials, has been confirmed by both the Ukrainian and Russian governments. The Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank that closely monitors combat actions, also makes melding of partisan actions.
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