A few days after Moscow troops took control of the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, a Russian armored truck drove through its center, playing a message on its loudspeakers: “Demonstrations are temporarily prohibited to avoid unrest.”
The next day, Saturday, thousands of locals marched through the streets waving Ukrainian flags, singing the national anthem, and chanting to Russian soldiers in their own language: “Go home! Go home!”
While the troops of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been bogged down in many parts of northern Ukraine in the face of fierce resistance, they have advanced in the south, capturing several cities and towns.
Mr. Putin has said that parts of the country, including the south, are historically Russian lands, and has tried to justify his invasion by the need to protect local Russian speakers. But after capturing places like Melitopol, his forces there are mostly seen as foreign occupiers, not liberators.
“He thought that in these cities we would be happy and welcome them with Russian flags, but no one expected Russia here,” said Andrey Radchenko, a 41-year-old surgeon from Melitopol. “We want to demoralize them, undermine their spirit.”
Thousands of people protested on Saturday in other occupied cities and towns. The largest protests took place in the nearby regional center of Kherson, where one man jumped on top of a passing Russian armored personnel carrier and waved a large Ukrainian flag to the applause of the crowd.
Local resistance in predominantly Russian-speaking cities is a challenge to Mr. Putin. The Russian soldiers, who have been told they are on a mission to liberate a brotherly people from neo-Nazi rulers, will now have to suppress the very people they ostensibly protect.
The resistance of the local population in predominantly Russian-speaking cities is a challenge to Russian forces. Credit: Tatiana Kumok via Storyful
Occupying a country like Ukraine, larger than France and with a population of about 40 million, would require massive financial and military resources, including hundreds of thousands of troops, said David Edelstein, professor of security studies at Georgetown University.
“It’s not something that is often a good thing,” said Mr. Edelstein, an occupational specialist. “People just don’t want a foreign power to occupy them and dictate to them how to run their society. They start by waving flags, and at some point they take up arms.”
A close look at the situation in Melitopol, through interviews with half a dozen residents and video analysis, shows how difficult it is to move from military takeover to occupation.
For the city’s 150,000 inhabitants, the war began with a rocket attack on the airport in the early hours of February 24 that woke them up.
Within two days, Russian troops fought their way to Melitopol, about 70 miles northeast of the Crimean peninsula, which Russia recaptured from Ukraine in 2014. Electricity, heating, telephone and internet were cut off in many areas. Residents huddled in cellars as the fighting raged for hours.
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People crossed under a destroyed bridge as they fled the city of Irpen, Ukraine, on Sunday.
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People crossed under a destroyed bridge as they fled the city of Irpen, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Alexander Ratushnyak/Associated Press
When they got out, they saw that Russian tanks and soldiers were crowding all over the city. The shops were closed, there was almost no communication with the outside world.
“We were seized with fear,” says a resident, teacher and mother of two. “We didn’t know what to do.”
The occupiers tried to coax local authorities into cooperation by offering Mayor Ivan Fyodorov a role in the occupation administration, according to Mr. Radchenko, a surgeon who is also a city councillor, and said he spoke with Mr. Fyodorov. The 33-year-old mayor refused, telling Russians he would focus on getting the city up and running again and taking care of its citizens, Mr Radchenko said.
The city was slowly coming back to life, even though it was largely cut off. Russian forces prevented the exit or entry of people. Electricity was restored, and the city officials organized young men to patrol against marauders that appeared after the takeover.
Mr. Fedorov regularly updated the video on his Facebook page. He described the city as “temporarily occupied”. The Russians raised their flag at the municipal buildings where they were based, but the Ukrainian flag still flies in front of the others.
Residents describe a spirit of mutual support. The teacher said that an unfamiliar woman gave her and her family a 3-liter pot of borscht on the day the Russians arrived, their first hot meal in days.
People in Melitopol mostly speak Russian, partly because the Soviets suppressed Ukrainian culture and sanctioned the use of the Russian language. Most freely switch between the two, which are linguistically similar, and many speak Ukrainian as a form of passive resistance.
On March 1, three days after Russian troops took control of the city, several hundred people gathered in the central square for a prayer meeting. They sang the national anthem, waved Ukrainian flags and held banners, including those with the inscription “Melitopol is our land.”
Then they moved to the buildings where the Russian troops were stationed. “Everything is in full swing,” said Olga Gaisumova, a 54-year-old entrepreneur who sells children’s toys.
Three days after Russian troops took control of Melitopol, several dozen protesters clashed with Russian armored vehicles. Credit: Olga Gaisumova via Storyful
As they approached with their hands raised and shouting Ukrainian slogans, Russian troops began firing, at first clearly into the air. “You’re shooting at unarmed people!” one man shouted, adding a curse.
Then a young man near the popular Celentano pizzeria restaurant fell to the ground, clutching his leg. “Bastards are shooting in the legs!” one person said. According to local residents, the victim was taken to the hospital and survived.
The protests continued. One group of several dozen men, armed only with rain umbrellas, blocked a handful of armored vehicles. The two trucks crashed into each other, turning their tails, drawing applause from the crowd.
Since then, the protests have become a daily midday event and have been growing in size every day.
The Russians made some efforts to win over the local population. A pair of Russian trucks delivered what they called humanitarian aid, including canned goods, to the city. Ukrainian authorities and locals say people were brought in from Crimea on buses to stand in line, posing as grateful locals to support the Russian propaganda story.
There were leaflets addressed to the residents. “Russia is not at war with the Ukrainian people!” one read. “Power belongs to the people, not to the Kiev junta.” The notice instructed people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary and not to approach Russian soldiers or vehicles, and recommended Russian propaganda channels as reliable sources of news.
“Are they really that dumb, or did Ukrainian intelligence infiltrate their headquarters?” – Tatyana Kumok, owner of a wedding dress store, wrote on Facebook. “We don’t need a leaflet to tell us power belongs to the people, thank you.”
Thousands of people were detained at protests across Russia on Sunday, during the largest anti-war rallies since the invasion of Ukraine. Over 13,000 demonstrators have been detained in Russia in recent weeks. Photo: Vyacheslav Prokofiev/Zuma Press
In his Friday evening message, the mayor, Mr. Fedorov, essentially talked about criminal penalties for anyone who collaborates with the enemy. “The war will end, and with absolute certainty, everyone who has broken the law will be held accountable,” he said, standing on the square in front of a large flagpole with the Ukrainian flag.
The next day’s demonstration was held in a celebratory mood, despite the cold wind.
A large crowd poured into the main street. They were driven by a car with an open trunk and doors, from which a popular Ukrainian song sounded. A woman draped in the Ukrainian flag and with a garland of flowers in her hair dangled from the passenger door, shaking her fist and shouting a nationalist salute: “Glory to the heroes!”
Residents approached the soldiers and asked them why they had come to Melitopol and whether they really considered the protesters to be nationalist fanatics. The soldiers, covering their faces with heating pads, averted their eyes and remained silent.
Residents say some soldiers privately admit they don’t want to be there but face lengthy jail terms if they disobey orders.
Others are “zombified,” Ms Gaisumova said. One told her: “We have come here forever, and you will go to Lvov,” a city in western Ukraine near the border with Poland.
However, according to her, the locals are ready for a long journey.
“People have the energy to meet,” Ms Gaisumova said. She added that the Russian soldiers were “hungry, unwashed and tired.”
Mr. Fedorov apologized Sunday night for posting his Facebook video later than usual, saying “those who occupy our city” have turned off mobile internet. He delivered the good news: a van loaded with much-needed medicines had arrived, including enough insulin for the city’s diabetic children before the end of the month.
“This will all be over soon,” he said, “and we will live in peaceful, Ukrainian Melitopol.”
Write to James Marson at [email protected]
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