Paul Goble
Staunton, July 1 – On June 29, Russia marked the Day of the Partisans and Underground Workers to commemorate the role such people played in defeating the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. But this year, the holiday also celebrated the rise of what Russian officials say is powerful pro-Moscow and anti-Kyiv partisan movement in Ukraine today.
Discussing this development for Vzglyad, Moscow commentator Andrey Rezchikov says that Ukrainians who oppose the Zelensky government have attracted draft centers, railways, and supply dumps far behind the front lines, with attacks on the last especially important for the success of Russian forces (vz.ru/society/2024/6/29/1275375.html).
He cites the words of Aleksandr Makushin, an expert who is a member of the Russian Military History Society, to the effect that the movement is growing because “society sees that a war to the last Ukrainian is being conducted in the interests of Western countries but not for that of Ukraine.”
According to the historian, the current underground movement is very different than its World War II predecessor, not only because it is able to make use of the Internet and thus is organized as a series of cells rather than territorially based military units. Another difference is that the Ukrainians supposedly are even harsher in punishing partisans than were the Germans.
It is uncertain how accurate Rezchikov’s report it, but the fact that he is talking about it at all and that he says Moscow is encouraging the new partisans to go after supply dumps in the first instance strongly suggests that backing such an underground is an increasingly important part of Russian military strategy in Ukraine.
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