Ukrainian resistance movement in the occupied territories

Abstract

One ideological thesis the Russian Federation used to justify its invasion of Ukraine was the alleged readiness of the residents of the East and South of Ukraine to cooperate with the occupiers. Almost a year of war has shown the lack of mass Ukrainian support for the occupying forces and their "administrations". What we saw was a well-organized resistance to the Russian occupation.
This article explores two forms of the Ukrainian resistance movement – civil and military. Our goal is to launch a discussion studying the dynamics, scope, and varieties of Ukrainian resistance in the occupied territories. We rely on data from the American Institute for the Study of War, separate expert studies, and journalistic investigations available in the public domain. Drawing on the example of the temporarily occupied regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk and the annexed Crimea, we demonstrate that the change in the forms of civil resistance – from open, peaceful protests to "quiet disobedience", sabotage or boycott of "referendums" – was caused by the repressive reaction of the occupying authorities. The latter is most visible in the actions of the "Yellow Ribbon" movement. Military or armed resistance is coordinated by special operations forces and implemented by partisan units.
Unlike in 2014, as of 2022, the military resistance has a sufficient normative foundation, a well-organized structure, and an extensive network of partisan groups demonstrating its effectiveness. Our analysis shows that both forms of resistance have an organized but decentralized nature and are carried out mainly by relatively small groups. The influence of various actions of the movement significantly affects the logistical capabilities of the occupying army, its morale, and the desire of individual collaborators to continue cooperation with the occupiers. As such, the movement significantly undermines the Russian Federation’s ability to establish administrative control over the captured territories and their absorption into the Russian Federation.