The residents of the territories temporarily occupied by Russia are waiting for the liberation and the arrival of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Despite close control, the abduction of dissidents, the guerrilla movement in the south of Ukraine acts quickly and decisively. Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions have been resisting the occupation authorities and self-proclaimed government for 4 months already.
‘Bukvy’ has gathered reports about the guerrilla activities in Ukraine’s south.
Any public patriotic events and pro-Ukrainian rallies are dispersed, and their organizers and participants are tortured. Therefore, the residents of the occupied south resist the occupiers in silence, anonymously and ruthlessly. The resistance includes assassination of local collaborators, harassment and threats to the Russian authorities, damage to the occupiers’ military equipment and Russian symbols.
On May 18, Zaporizhzhya Regional Administration reported that guerrillas had liquidated high-ranking Russian servicemen in Melitopol. The assassination took place on May 16 at 52 Heroiv Ukrainy Street. Later, representatives of the pro-Russian administration and the military arrived at the scene. Two bodies in plastic bags were taken out of the scene.
The assassination attempt in Energodar against the collaborator appointed by the Russians took place on May 22. At around 8:30 am, there was an explosion at 38 Kurchatova Street where Andriy Shevchyk, the so-called ‘head of the military administration’ of Energodar, lives. The explosion wounded the collaborator and his bodyguards.
According to a military expert, the guerrillas in Melitopol act together with Ukraine’s Armed Forces. After all, it is the locals who can disrupt the logistics chains that support Russian troops.
‘If the guerrillas cut off supplies, the troops on the front line are left without fuel, or without ammunition, or even without food. This significantly affects their combat capability and helps Ukraine’s Armed Forces’, said military expert Zhdanov.
Railway explosions were also recorded in Melitopol, which impeded the movement of the Russian armored train. The explosive, installed on the rails, detonated under a car with personnel. As a result, the railway line and equipment were damaged.
In Kherson region, local groups also resist the Russian authorities. On June 18, a car carrying local collaborator Yevhen Sobolev, a native of Nova Kakhovka, was blown up. The collaborator, using his official position, persuaded other officials of Kherson region to cooperate with the occupiers. According to local media, he ran a torture chamber, where Russians brought suspects of disloyalty.
On June 24, a loud explosion took place in the city of Kherson. Collaborator Dmytro Savluchenko and his bodyguards were liquidated.
Kherson resistance does not stop and becomes even stronger. They posted a video, which showed two captured collaborators and announced thay knew all locations of the Russian Guard.
The guerrillas of the occupied south continue to destroy Russian symbols every day, damage the occupiers’ cars, billboards of the self-proclaimed government, and post threats and information about the occupiers.