Latest news with #Pavlo
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Silent acts of resistance and fear under Russian occupation in Ukraine
A fifth of Ukrainian territory is now under Russian control, and for Ukrainians living under occupation there seems little chance that any future deal to end the war will change that. Three Ukrainians in different Russian-controlled cities have told the BBC of the pressures they face, from being forced to accept a Russian passport to the risks of carrying out small acts of resistance. We are not using their real names for their own safety, and will call them Mavka, Pavlo and Iryna. The potential dangers are the same, whether in Mariupol or Melitopol, seized by Russia in the full-scale invasion in 2022, or in Crimea which was annexed eight years before. Mavka chose to stay in Melitopol when the Russians invaded her city on 25 February 2022, "because it is unfair that someone can just come to my home and take it out". She has lived there since birth, midway between the Crimean peninsula and the regional capital Zaporizhzhia. In recent months she has noticed a ramping up of not only a strict policy of "Russification" in the city, but of an increased militarisation of all spheres of life, including in schools. She has shared pictures of a billboard promoting conscription to young locals, a school notebook with Putin's portrait on it, and photos and a video of pupils wearing Russian military uniforms instead of the school outfits - boys and girls - and performing military education tasks. Some 200km (125 miles) along the coast of the sea of Azov, and much closer to the Russian border, the city of Mariupol feels as if it has been "cut off" from the outside world, according to Pavlo. This key port and hub of Ukraine's steel industry was captured after a devastating siege and bombardment that lasted almost three months in 2022. Russian citizenship is now obligatory if you want to work or study or have an urgent medical help, Pavlo says. "If someone's child, let's say, refuses to sing the Russian anthem at school in the morning, the FSB [Russia's security service] will visit their parents, they will be 'pencilled in' and then anything can happen." Pavlo survived the siege despite being shot six times, including to his head. Now that he has recuperated, he feels he cannot leave because of elderly relatives. "Most of those who stayed in Mariupol or returned, did so to help their elderly parents or their sick grandparents, or because of their flat," he tells me over the phone after midnight so no-one will overhear. The biggest preoccupation in Mariupol is holding on to your home, as most of the property damaged in the Russian bombardment has been demolished, and the cost of living and unemployment has surged. "I'd say 95% of all talk in the city is about property: how to claim it back, how to sell it. You'll hear people talk about it while queuing to buy some bread, on your way to a chemist, in the food market, everywhere," he says. Crimea has been under occupation since Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula in 2014, when Russia's war in Ukraine began. Iryna decided to remain, also to care for an elderly relative but also because she did not want to leave "her beautiful home". All signs of Ukrainian identity have been banned in public, and Iryna says she cannot speak Ukrainian in public any more, "as you never know who can tell the authorities on you". Children at nursery school in Crimea are told to sing the Russian anthem every morning, even the very youngest. All the teachers are Russian, most of them wives of soldiers who have moved in from Russia. Iryna occasionally puts on her traditional, embroidered vyshyvanka top when she has video calls with friends elsewhere on the peninsula. "It helps us to keep our spirits high, reminding us about our happy life before the occupation". But the risks are high, even for wearing a vyshyvanka. "They might not shoot you straight away, but you can simply disappear afterwards, silently," she declares. She speaks of a Ukrainian friend being questioned by police because Russian neighbours, who came to Crimea in 2014, told police he had illegal weapons. "Of course he didn't. Luckily they let him go in the end, but it's so frightening." Iryna complains that she cannot go out on her own even for coffee "because solders can put a gun at you and say something abusive or order you to please them". Resistance in Ukraine's occupied cities is dangerous, and it often comes in small acts of defiance aimed at reminding residents that they are not alone. In Melitopol, Mavka talks of being part of a secret female resistance movement called Zla Mavka (Angry Mavka) "to let people know that Ukrainians don't agree with the occupation, we didn't call for it, and we will never tolerate it". The network is made up of women and girls in "pretty much all occupied cities", according to Iryna, although she cannot reveal its size or scale because of the potential dangers for its members. Mavka describes her role in running the network's social media accounts, which document life under occupation and acts like placing Ukrainian symbols or leaflets in public places "to remind other Ukrainians that they are not alone", or even riskier practices. "Sometimes we also put a laxative in alcohol and baked goods for the Russian soldiers, as a 'welcome pack'," she says. Punishment for that kind of act, which the BBC is unable to verify, would be severe. Russia's occupation authorities treat the Ukrainian language or anything related to Ukraine as extremist, says Mavka. Ukrainians are well aware of what happened to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27, who disappeared while investigating allegations of torture prisons in eastern Ukraine in 2023. Russian authorities told her family she had died in custody in September 2024. Her body was returned earlier this month, with several organs removed and clear signs of torture. Silent disappearance is what Mavka fears most: "When suddenly nobody can find out where you are or what's happened to you." Her network has developed a set of tasks for new joiners to pass to avoid infiltration, and so far they have managed to avoid cyber attacks. For now they are waiting and watching: "We cannot take up arms and fight back against the occupier right now, but we want at least to show that pro-Ukrainian population is here, and it will also be here". She and others in Melitopol are following closely what is happening in Kyiv, "because it is important for us to know whether Kyiv is ready to fight for us. Even small steps matter". "We have a rollercoaster of moods here. Many are worried documents might get signed that, God forbid, leave us under Russian occupation for even longer. Because we know what Russia will do here." The worry for Mavka and people close to her is that if Kyiv does agree a ceasefire it could mean Russia pursuing the same policy as in Crimea, erasing Ukrainian identity and repressing the population. "They've been already replacing locals with their people. But people here are still hopeful, we will continue our resistance, we'll just have to be more creative". Unlike Mavka, Pavlo believes the war must end, even if it means losing his ability to return to Ukraine. "Human life is of the greatest value… but there are certain conditions for a ceasefire and not everyone might agree with them as it raises a question, why have all those people died then during the past three years? Would they feel abandoned and betrayed?" Pavlo is wary of talking, even via an encrypted line, but adds: "I don't envy anyone involved in this decision-making process. It won't be simple, black and white. Iryna fears for Crimea's next generation who have grown up in an atmosphere of violence and, she says, copy their fathers who have returned from Russia's war against Ukraine. She shows me her bandaged cat, and says a child on her street shot it with a rubber bullet. "For them it was fun. These kids are not taught to build peace, they are taught to fight. It breaks my heart." How the West is helping Russia to fund its war on Ukraine The terrifying new weapon changing the war in Ukraine Russian advance in Ukraine's north east may be attempt to create 'buffer zone'
BBC News
01-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Russian occupation in Ukraine: Silent acts of resistance and fear
A fifth of Ukrainian territory is now under Russian control, and for Ukrainians living under occupation there seems little chance that any future deal to end the war will change Ukrainians in different Russian-controlled cities have told the BBC of the pressures they face, from being forced to accept a Russian passport to the risks of carrying out small acts of resistance. We are not using their real names for their own safety, and will call them Mavka, Pavlo and potential dangers are the same, whether in Mariupol or Melitopol, seized by Russia in the full-scale invasion in 2022, or in Crimea which was annexed eight years chose to stay in Melitopol when the Russians invaded her city on 25 February 2022, "because it is unfair that someone can just come to my home and take it out".She has lived there since birth, midway between the Crimean peninsula and the regional capital recent months she has noticed a ramping up of not only a strict policy of "Russification" in the city, but of an increased militarisation of all spheres of life, including in has shared pictures of a billboard promoting conscription to young locals, a school notebook with Putin's portrait on it, and photos and a video of pupils wearing Russian military uniforms instead of the school outfits - boys and girls - and performing military education tasks. Some 200km (125 miles) along the coast of the sea of Azov, and much closer to the Russian border, the city of Mariupol feels as if it has been "cut off" from the outside world, according to key port and hub of Ukraine's steel industry was captured after a devastating siege and bombardment that lasted almost three months in citizenship is now obligatory if you want to work or study or have an urgent medical help, Pavlo says."If someone's child, let's say, refuses to sing the Russian anthem at school in the morning, the FSB [Russia's security service] will visit their parents, they will be 'pencilled in' and then anything can happen." Pavlo survived the siege despite being shot six times, including to his that he has recuperated, he feels he cannot leave because of elderly relatives."Most of those who stayed in Mariupol or returned, did so to help their elderly parents or their sick grandparents, or because of their flat," he tells me over the phone after midnight so no-one will biggest preoccupation in Mariupol is holding on to your home, as most of the property damaged in the Russian bombardment has been demolished, and the cost of living and unemployment has surged."I'd say 95% of all talk in the city is about property: how to claim it back, how to sell it. You'll hear people talk about it while queuing to buy some bread, on your way to a chemist, in the food market, everywhere," he says. Crimea has been under occupation since Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula in 2014, when Russia's war in Ukraine decided to remain, also to care for an elderly relative but also because she did not want to leave "her beautiful home".All signs of Ukrainian identity have been banned in public, and Iryna says she cannot speak Ukrainian in public any more, "as you never know who can tell the authorities on you".Children at nursery school in Crimea are told to sing the Russian anthem every morning, even the very youngest. All the teachers are Russian, most of them wives of soldiers who have moved in from occasionally puts on her traditional, embroidered vyshyvanka top when she has video calls with friends elsewhere on the peninsula."It helps us to keep our spirits high, reminding us about our happy life before the occupation". But the risks are high, even for wearing a vyshyvanka. "They might not shoot you straight away, but you can simply disappear afterwards, silently," she speaks of a Ukrainian friend being questioned by police because Russian neighbours, who came to Crimea in 2014, told police he had illegal weapons. "Of course he didn't. Luckily they let him go in the end, but it's so frightening."Iryna complains that she cannot go out on her own even for coffee "because solders can put a gun at you and say something abusive or order you to please them". Resistance in Ukraine's occupied cities is dangerous, and it often comes in small acts of defiance aimed at reminding residents that they are not Melitopol, Mavka talks of being part of a secret female resistance movement called Zla Mavka (Angry Mavka) "to let people know that Ukrainians don't agree with the occupation, we didn't call for it, and we will never tolerate it".The network is made up of women and girls in "pretty much all occupied cities", according to Iryna, although she cannot reveal its size or scale because of the potential dangers for its describes her role in running the network's social media accounts, which document life under occupation and acts like placing Ukrainian symbols or leaflets in public places "to remind other Ukrainians that they are not alone", or even riskier practices. "Sometimes we also put a laxative in alcohol and baked goods for the Russian soldiers, as a 'welcome pack'," she for that kind of act, which the BBC is unable to verify, would be occupation authorities treat the Ukrainian language or anything related to Ukraine as extremist, says are well aware of what happened to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27, who disappeared while investigating allegations of torture prisons in eastern Ukraine in 2023. Russian authorities told her family she had died in custody in September 2024. Her body was returned earlier this month, with several organs removed and clear signs of torture. Silent disappearance is what Mavka fears most: "When suddenly nobody can find out where you are or what's happened to you."Her network has developed a set of tasks for new joiners to pass to avoid infiltration, and so far they have managed to avoid cyber now they are waiting and watching: "We cannot take up arms and fight back against the occupier right now, but we want at least to show that pro-Ukrainian population is here, and it will also be here".She and others in Melitopol are following closely what is happening in Kyiv, "because it is important for us to know whether Kyiv is ready to fight for us. Even small steps matter"."We have a rollercoaster of moods here. Many are worried documents might get signed that, God forbid, leave us under Russian occupation for even longer. Because we know what Russia will do here." The worry for Mavka and people close to her is that if Kyiv does agree a ceasefire it could mean Russia pursuing the same policy as in Crimea, erasing Ukrainian identity and repressing the population."They've been already replacing locals with their people. But people here are still hopeful, we will continue our resistance, we'll just have to be more creative".Unlike Mavka, Pavlo believes the war must end, even if it means losing his ability to return to Ukraine."Human life is of the greatest value… but there are certain conditions for a ceasefire and not everyone might agree with them as it raises a question, why have all those people died then during the past three years? Would they feel abandoned and betrayed?"Pavlo is wary of talking, even via an encrypted line, but adds: "I don't envy anyone involved in this decision-making process. It won't be simple, black and fears for Crimea's next generation who have grown up in an atmosphere of violence and, she says, copy their fathers who have returned from Russia's war against shows me her bandaged cat, and says a child on her street shot it with a rubber bullet."For them it was fun. These kids are not taught to build peace, they are taught to fight. It breaks my heart."
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Ukraine brings back six children from Russian occupation
Ukraine has brought back six children from territories temporarily occupied by Russia. Among them are a brother and sister from a family that had previously tried to leave without success, as well as a girl whom the Russians had threatened to take from her mother. Source: Bring Kids Back UA initiative on Facebook Details: The initiative shared the stories of several children, including Mariia and her mother, who faced ongoing pressure from local Russian "administration" after the death of Mariia's father. "The family was forced to obtain Russian documents because they could not solve even basic everyday issues without them. The mother was also threatened that Mariia would be taken away if the girl did not attend a Russian school," Bring Kids Back stated. Eventually, the situation became so critical that the family had to seek help with evacuation. Also rescued were siblings Pavlo and Anna. The younger child had health problems but could not access the necessary medical care. The family had tried several times to leave the occupied territory on their own, but it was virtually impossible without Russian documents. "All the children and their families are now safe in Ukrainian-controlled territory. They are receiving assistance with rehabilitation and adapting to their new lives," the initiative concluded. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Al Arabiya
12-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Kyiv says F-16 pilot killed in combat
A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed in combat, Kyiv said Saturday, in the second such incident since the delivery of the precious US-made fighter jets to Ukraine to help fight Russia's invasion. 'On 12 April 2025, 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov died while flying an F-16 combat mission,' the Ukrainian army said in a statement. 'He was killed in action, defending his homeland from the invaders,' it added. The army did not give more details on the circumstances of how he died and said that a commission was working to establish 'all the circumstances of the tragedy.' 'Ukrainian pilots work to the maximum of their human and technical capabilities, risking their lives every time they perform combat missions. Pavlo was one of them!,' the army said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ivanov was killed in action and expressed condolences to his family. 'We are investigating all the circumstances,' he said on social media. Kyiv received the first deliveries of F-16s in summer last year, after spending two years pushing for them. In August 2024, Kyiv said that an F-16 had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot. That was until now the only loss of an F-16 announced by Kyiv. Last month, Zelenskyy announced the delivery of a fresh of batch of the jets, without giving an exact number.
Asharq Al-Awsat
22-03-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
As Russia Retakes Kursk, Ukrainians Ask, 'Was it Worth it?'
When Mariia Pankova last exchanged messages with her close friend Pavlo in December, she had no idea that he was among the Ukrainian troops fighting in Russia's Kursk region. She found out when a fellow soldier told her several days later that her friend, Pavlo Humeniuk, 24, a combat engineer in Ukraine's 47th Magura brigade, had gone missing near the village of Novoivanivka in Kursk on December 6. Almost four months have passed and there has been no further information about Pavlo's fate, Pankova told Reuters, citing her conversations with his relatives. She keeps searching on Telegram and Facebook hoping to find out whether he is dead or alive. Pankova, 25, believes the cost of Ukraine's risky incursion into Russia may have been too high. The sentiment is shared by many others in Ukraine, especially after troops retreated from most of Kursk this month following weeks of heavy fighting. "I'm just not sure it was worth it," she said, large teardrops running down her face when talking about her missing friend, who she bonded with over their shared love of hiking in Ukraine's mountains. "We're not invaders. We just need our territories back, we do not need the Russian one." In response to questions for this story, Ukraine's armed forces General Staff said the offensive was meant to put pressure on Moscow, to divert Russian forces from other fronts and to prevent Russian cross-border attacks on neighboring parts of Ukraine. The operation "achieved most of its goals", the General Staff said. Kyiv's assault on Kursk in August took Russia, and the world, by surprise. It was the biggest attack on sovereign Russian territory since the Nazi invasion of 1941. As Ukrainian soldiers smashed into the Kursk region, largely unopposed, they quickly seized some 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles) of Russian territory. But short of troops, within weeks the area under Ukraine's control shrank to a narrow wedge. Kyiv used some of its top marine and air assault forces but the grouping was never large enough to be able to hold on to a larger area. "From the very beginning, logistics was seriously complicated because as we entered the Kursk region, we ensured sufficient depth but we did not ensure sufficient width," said Serhiy Rakhmanin, a Ukrainian lawmaker on the parliament's committee for security and defense. From the start, Russia had a manpower advantage along the Kursk frontline. But the situation became critical late last year. Russia brought in elite units and top drone forces as reinforcements, aided by North Korean forces. They tightened assaults around Ukrainian flanks and advanced to within firing range of a key supply road, according to reports from Ukrainian military bloggers close to the armed forces. "They not only increased the number of their group opposing our military, but they also improved its quality," Rakhmanin said. Russian President Vladimir Putin has never acknowledged the role of the North Koreans on the battlefield. 'NO LOGIC' Russia's retaking of the Kursk region removes a potential bargaining chip for Ukraine just as US President Donald Trump undertakes talks to end the war with Russia, which holds around a fifth of Ukraine's national lands. Ukraine's retreat from the Kursk city of Sudzha, confirmed by Kyiv on March 16, prompted questions and deepened the public divide in Ukraine on the benefits of the incursion. Soldier Oleksii Deshevyi, 32, a former supermarket security guard who lost his hand while fighting in Kursk in September, said he saw no logic in the operation. "We should not have started this operation at all," he told Reuters in a rehabilitation center in Kyiv, where he has spent the past six months adjusting to life after injury. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has acknowledged his military is in a difficult position in Kursk and that he expects continued attacks from Russia as it attempts to push the remaining Ukrainian forces out of the region. However, he has denied claims by Putin and Trump that his forces are surrounded. US intelligence assessments also state Kyiv's troops are not encircled. The Russian forces are now sending small assault groups to try to break through the Ukrainian border in the Sumy region, and may also be readying for a bigger attack there, Ukrainian military analysts said. In public comments made to Putin, Russia's chief of General Staff, Valery Gerasimov last week confirmed his troops' recent incursions into Sumy. He detailed what he said were heavy Ukrainian losses in Kursk. Even as Ukraine shifted to a defensive operation, its goals included 'control over the territory of the Russian Federation, exhaustion of the enemy, destruction of its personnel and pulling back its reserves,' Ukraine's General Staff said. It added that nearly 1,000 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner, some of whom were swapped for Ukrainian prisoners. Because of the operation, Moscow had to create three new groupings, totaling about 90,000 soldiers, as well as 12,000 North Korean servicemen, the General Staff said. Reuters could not independently verify those claims. RISKY GAMBLE Even at the start, some criticized it as a risky gamble. Viktor Muzhenko, former head of Ukraine's General Staff, wrote in August 2024 that Ukraine should "focus on defending its key territories, avoiding unpredictable risky operations that could divert attention from main threats, and choose forms and methods of using troops that are adequate to their capabilities." However, some in Ukraine hailed the operation as a black eye for Russia. Speaking on March 12, Oleksander Syrskyi, Ukraine's commander-in-chief, said the operation diverted and killed some of Russia's best troops. Lawmaker Rakhmanin said it also provided a much-needed boost to morale in Ukraine after Russia made territorial advances there in 2024 and showcased Ukraine's ability to conduct successful offensive operations. While Trump negotiates with Putin for an end to the war, Pankova remembered her friend Pavlo and cast doubt over the possibility of a peace deal that prevented Russia from later taking more Ukrainian territory. She was thinking of joining the armed forces, she said. "Every time that someone tries to, let's say, sell some piece of Ukraine, they just have not to forget what we already gave. How many lives our people gave for that.
