They are Kiev’s eyes and arm in the occupied territories, watching and striking when the opportunity arises. We are talking about the members of Atesh, a resistance group made up largely of Crimean Tatars. A thorn in the side.
According to several sources, the Russian command has decided to reduce the number of checkpoints in the Zaporizhia region in order to reduce the risks to soldiers. The military was concentrated on the most important positions while supplies were transported in convoys (harder to attack). In recent weeks, attacks by “partisans” on the lines used by the invaders have increased: destroyed trucks, ambushes, sabotage, disruptive actions. An official busy carrying ballot papers for the mock election was killed on Saturday, just days before a violent explosion devastated the headquarters of the United Russia party – that of Vladimir Putin – in Melitopol, although it is unclear what caused it caused the trigger. Also report small disruptions, initiatives with limited practical impact but which increase uncertainty.
More recently, Atesh claimed responsibility for an attack on Zakhar Prilepin, a nationalist element who was seriously injured when his Audi exploded in Nizhny Novgorod, 425 kilometers from Moscow, and for an operation against a base in Crimea. Like other cells, they target collaborators, officials and military personnel through autonomous initiatives or in coordination with Ukrainian intelligence, the director of a “deep strategy.” The mission is to be continued on several levels. Yesterday one of the intelligence leaders promised further incursions by drones and humans, both in the southern regions and within Russia.
The shooting also includes educational work. They spy on the installations, track the movements of the detachments, search for targets, note the defenses and any rotations of the units. The arrival of a selected battalion, the flow of supplies and the logistics “train” become valuable indicators for the Ukrainian General Staff. On Saturday, photos were published online of a camp found in the Bakhchysarai area in the southwestern part of the peninsula. In another statement, they informed about a possible mobilization of the invaders in Crimea through the recruitment of former police and civil servants. The authorities have ordered strict controls, including bank accounts, in order to track down the fraudsters.
Observers expect the movement of new army troops from the east towards the Zaporizhzhia sector in response to the slow but steady Ukrainian advance. This results in a new estimate of the size of the “invasion force”: Moscow would have around 420,000 men in the occupied territories.