For almost two years, Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol in
southern Ukraine, has been trying to keep in touch with his
constituents despite the Russian occupation. His town was taken
over by the Russians 48 hours after the start of the invasion in
February 2022. He himself was kidnapped for five days on March
11. His telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president
after his release has remained in people's memories. "Thank you
for not letting me down," he told Volodymyr Zelensky. "Are you
kidding? We don't let our people down," replied the head of
state.
Fedorov has
since moved to Zaporizhzhia, in the sector controlled by the
Ukrainian authorities. For the past two years, through
information gathered remotely, he has seen his city transformed
by the occupation. "It's very hard," he explained to Le
Monde. "Local pseudo-authorities have been set up, any
resistance is harshly repressed and the demographic composition
itself has changed with the arrival of thousands of Russians."
These are gradually replacing the 60,000 or so inhabitants (out
of 150,000) who fled Melitopol after the large-scale offensive.
In this city, as
elsewhere in the occupied Ukrainian territories, Moscow has been
applying a meticulous, coordinated policy aimed at imposing its
legitimacy and reinforcing the integration of these regions
within Russia. A report published in January by the National
Resistance Center of Ukraine, an official body
created by the special forces, gave an alarming assessment of
the situation, two years after the start of the invasion.
Destruction of Ukrainian identity, sham elections, propaganda,
population transfers, humanitarian crisis, unemployment, forced
mobilization to swell the ranks of Russian troops and increased
repression: Moscow is using all available means to try to
legalize its power in these regions, organize the war effort and
pave the way for the Russian presidential election in March.
Intense
propaganda campaign
In July 2023,
the creation of a "Council for the Integration of the New
Regions" was announced to harmonize the process. Russification
is proceeding apace in all areas. At school, new history books –
presenting the invasion in its Russian version and denying the
existence of the Ukrainian state – have replaced those that
children have been using until now. At the same time, memorial
sites dedicated to the victims of Soviet repression and the
Holodomor are being systematically destroyed. On the judicial
front, 410 courts were opened in the annexed territories in
2022.
Access to
independent information is particularly difficult. Part of the
population manages to get information using VPNs, but following
Ukrainian channels is risky in case phones are monitored. The
Kremlin is conducting an intense propaganda campaign, replacing
local media with its own. By 2014, Ukrainians
had already lost 678 broadcast frequencies with the takeover of
Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas. Since 2022, a further
200 frequencies have been used by Russia throughout the occupied
territories.
Citizens are
under constant pressure to get a Russian passport. "Without this
document," explained Fedorov, "you can't access medical care,
drive a car, work in companies, have an internet connection, or
even an electricity contract. You can also be arrested. In every
area of daily life, you need a Russian passport, including to go
to hospital. So either you get one, or you die."
Even so, tens of
thousands of Ukrainians are refusing to get one. "According to
Russia, four of the five occupied territories have failed to
reach the rate of having 50% of the population with passports,"
stated the report by the National Resistance Center of Ukraine.
"The only exception is Crimea," annexed in 2014, where all
inhabitants now have one.
Persistent hostility against occupiers
This refusal is
indicative of the persistent hostility of a large section of the
population toward the occupiers. Despite the risk of kidnapping,
torture and murder, resistance continues. Local partisan
movements such as the "Melitopol Movement," the "Berdyansk
Partisan Army" and SROK ("Death to Russian Occupiers and
Collaborators") provide valuable intelligence to Ukrainian
forces.
Supporters of
this resistance movement are of all ages and backgrounds. In
Melitopol alone, "several hundred are in contact with our secret
services," said Fedorov. The mayor refused to say more. "It
could help Russia. The most important thing," he added, "is to
show that the occupiers are not welcome. It's even more
important now, when Moscow thinks it has complete control over
the occupied territories." While Kyiv may be failing to regain
territory, it intends to show that resistance is far from over.
Coordination
between the special forces and these local resistance movements
is bearing fruit. "The drones flying through the windows of the
offices that the occupying forces use for their military
briefings, as well as the destroyed arms depots are the result
[of this]," Andriy Yusov, spokesperson for Ukrainian military
intelligence, told a press conference in Kyiv on Wednesday. The
intensification of Ukrainian attacks is expected to continue in
2024, "particularly in Crimea."
It's this
tenacious resistance that Moscow is seeking to break by any
means necessary. "When the Russians invaded Melitopol, they were
very surprised," recalled Fedorov. "They were met with hostility
from the population, whereas they had expected to take power
calmly and be welcomed with open arms. That changed everything.
They got angry." The relentless repression continues to this day
against Ukrainians critical of the Kremlin's policies or
suspected of "disloyalty" to the occupier. Content published on
social media is monitored and informing on people is encouraged.
Russian security services regularly carry out "special
preventive operations" at checkpoints, or visit apartments
directly, according to the report.
2.8
million deported
Changing the
demographic composition of the occupied territories is also part
of Russia's strategy to break down resistance. In 2023, Moscow
continued its mass deportation of Ukrainians to Russia. By
December 2022, at least 2.8 million people had already been
deported, according to Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner
Dmytro Lubinets. These forced transfers are sometimes
"facilitated by the humanitarian crisis and high unemployment"
affecting the territories. The average salary now fluctuates
between 16,000 rubles (€167) and 20,000 rubles, according to
local job search sites (Moscow provides no official statistics),
whereas the average salary in Ukraine before the invasion was
17,452 hryvnias (€588).
Alongside the
deportations, Moscow has brought citizens from Russia, Belarus
and Central Asia into the occupied territories. "The aim is to
forcibly replace the Ukrainian population with another one which
will be loyal to the occupying authorities," the document
explained.
Moscow is
running an enticing communications campaign to attract Russian
companies and citizens. A "free economic zone" project was
launched in June 2023 throughout the occupied territories to
boost Russian and foreign investment. Significant bonuses and
salaries are promised to Russian volunteers, often from "poor
and neglected territories" in Russia, according to a
representative of the National Resistance Center present at the
press conference and speaking on condition of anonymity, his
face concealed by a mask.
As the conflict
drags on, the greatest challenge for the coming year is above
all "to remain strong and confident," emphasized Fedorov.
"That's why international support is so crucial." The worst
thing, in the eyes of the Melitopol mayor, would be for the
international community to force the Ukrainians to sign up to a
bad peace agreement that would force them to ratify a frozen
conflict. That would mean abandoning the resisting inhabitants
of the occupied territories to their fate.