Ukraine's Guerilla War Behind Russian Lines Is Heating Up

The number and seriousness of the incidents appears to be growing. 

And the addition of attacks on occupied Crimea suggests a broader lessening of fear as well as a growing sense that the Russians are vulnerable. JL 

Alexander Motyl reports in 19fortyfive:

In the period from July 6 to August 2, at least 33 resistance incidents occurred. Of these, 17 involved acts of non-violent protest, while 16 involved violence against persons or property. The most incidents occurred in Kherson province, where the Ukrainian armed forces are preparing a counter-offensive. Nine incidents took place in the Donbas; four apiece in Zaporizhzhya province and Crimea; one in Kharkiv province. Occupied Crimea’s addition to the list suggests growing self-confidence on the part of Russia’s opponents on the peninsula

The War in Ukraine Takes an Interesting Turn: Ukrainian opposition—by both violent and non-violent means—to the Russian occupation continues.

In the period from July 6 to August 2, at least 33 resistance incidents occurred. Of these, 17 involved acts of non-violent protest, while 16 involved violence against persons or property. The most such incidents occurred in Kherson province, where the Ukrainian armed forces are preparing a counter-offensive. Nine incidents took place in the Donbas; four apiece in Zaporizhzhya province and the Crimea; one in Kharkiv province.

Occupied Crimea’s addition to the list is a significant change from previous months. It may suggest growing self-confidence on the part of Russia’s opponents on the peninsula and could play an important role in mobilizing resistance if Ukraine decides to recapture Crimea.

 

July 6, Kherson: bomb explosion near railroad station, ammunition dump destroyed.

July 6, Severodonetsk, Luhansk province: leaflets opposed to Chechen armed units appear in the city.

July 8, Nova Kakhovka, Kherson province: collaborator Serhii Tomko, deputy head of local police force, shot and killed.

July 9, Nova Kakhovka: pro-Ukrainian signage appears in city.

July 10, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea: anti-Russia leaflets appear in city.

July 11, Velykyy Burluk, Kharkiv province: collaborator Yevhen Yunakov assassinated in car-bombing.

July 11, Kherson: bomb disarmed, intended to kill collaborator Volodymyr Saldo, head of Russian-controlled province administration.

July 11, Zaporizhzhya province: shots fired at collaborationist head of Melitopol district administration, Andrii Sihuta.

July 11, Sudak, occupied Crimea: a group of Russian soldiers assaulted by local residents, possibly Crimean Tatars, with one Russian being severely beaten.

July 11, Simferopol, occupied Crimea; Kherson; Melitopol, Zaporizhzhya province: Yellow Ribbon resistance movements emerges.

July 12, Kherson province: Col. Aleksei Avramchenko shot and killed, possibly by partisans.

July 14, Mariupol, Donetsk province: “Satelit” plant set on fire.

July 16, Kherson: blue-and-yellow ribbons appear in city.

July 16, probably Sevastopol, occupied Crimea: wanted posters appear, offering $15,000 for information on or “liquidation” of Captain Anatoly Varochkin, who ordered the July 14^th missile strikes on civilians in Vinnytsia.

July 20, Mariupol, Donetsk province: pro-Ukrainian leaflets appear in city.

July 20, Kherson and Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia province: anti-Russian graffiti appears in both cities.

July 21, Kherson: pro-Russian billboard defaced, anti-Russian graffiti appears, Ukrainian flag hoisted in public place.

July 22, Kherson: pro-Ukrainian leaflets and graffiti appear in city.

July 22, Mariupol, Donetsk province: Ukrainian national symbol appears in city center.

July 23, Kherson: pro-Russian banners defaced.

July 25, Chaplynka, Kherson province: pro-Ukrainian symbols appear in village.

July 25, Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhya province: explosion near Pivdenhidromash plant, possibly the work of the resistance.

July 27, Kherson: one collaborationist policeman killed, one wounded in car bomb explosion.

July 27, Kherson province: partisans kill “group of occupiers.”

July 28, Kherson: partisans distribute leaflets urging population to leave city in advance of Ukrainian offensive.

July 29, Sevastopol, occupied Crimea: anti-Russian posters appear in city.

July 29, Kherson: pro-Ukrainian signs appear in city.

July 29, Mariupol, Donetsk province: Nemesis resistance group sets fire to grain fields to prevent Russian confiscation of grain.

July 30, Kherson: Yellow Ribbon resistance movement offers rewards for information on planned Russian events.

July 30, Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhya province: several explosions in front of hotel housing Russian troops; at least six wounded. Possibly the work of the resistance.

July 30, Svyatove, Luhansk province: partisans destroy rail signaling and communications devices.

August 1, Krasne, Kherson province: Russian flag above the village council building burned; pro-Ukrainian and anti-Russian graffiti written on door.

August 2, occupied Crimea: anti-Russian leaflets appear.

August 2, Luhansk: provincial governor, Serhii Hayday, claims Luhansk partisans have destroyed vital infrastructure.

August 2, Troitske, Luhansk province: anti-Russian leaflets appear.

The Berdyansk Partisan Army continues to distribute calls for information regarding Russian troop movements and collaborators on its Telegram site. Interestingly, two more organized groups have emerged: Yellow Ribbon, in Simferopol, Kherson, and Melitopol; and Nemesis, in Kherson. Their emergence may herald growing involvement in guerrilla activities by Ukrainians and growing coordination between the resistance and the armed forces.