Silent acts of resistance and concern

[ad_1] <img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/4554/live/e5424fb0-3d58-11f0-a3e0-9d06ba32c38a.jpg.webp" loading="eager" alt="BBC A poster in red and white shows a Russian soldier holding a gun and wearing combat gear ready for battle" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> BBC A Russian call-up poster urges the native inhabitants in occupied Melitopol to "Defend the Motherland, professionally"

A fifth of Ukrainian territory is now beneath Russian management, and for Ukrainians residing beneath occupation there appears little likelihood that any future deal to finish the struggle will change that.

Three Ukrainians in numerous Russian-controlled cities have informed the BBC of the pressures they face, from being compelled to simply accept a Russian passport to the dangers of finishing up small acts of resistance. We aren't utilizing their actual names for their very own security, and can name them Mavka, Pavlo and Iryna.

The potential risks are the identical, whether or not in Mariupol or Melitopol, seized by Russia within the full-scale invasion in 2022, or in Crimea which was annexed eight years earlier than.

Mavka selected to remain in Melitopol when the Russians invaded her metropolis on 25 February 2022, "as a result of it's unfair that somebody can simply come to my residence and take it out".

She has lived there since beginning, halfway between the Crimean peninsula and the regional capital Zaporizhzhia.

In latest months she has observed a ramping up of not solely a strict coverage of "Russification" within the metropolis, however of an elevated militarisation of all spheres of life, together with in colleges.

She has shared photos of a billboard selling conscription to younger locals, a faculty pocket book with Putin's portrait on it, and images and a video of pupils carrying Russian navy uniforms as an alternative of the college outfits - girls and boys - and performing navy schooling duties.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/c564/live/54a931c0-3d5e-11f0-af00-f94ff1cabcc0.png.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Map showing areas of Ukraine under Russian occupation, which is Crimea and a corridor along the south-east border with Russia, encompassing Melitipol and Mariupol." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Some 200km (125 miles) alongside the coast of the ocean of Azov, and far nearer to the Russian border, town of Mariupol feels as if it has been "reduce off" from the surface world, in line with Pavlo.

This key port and hub of Ukraine's metal business was captured after a devastating siege and bombardment that lasted nearly three months in 2022.

Russian citizenship is now compulsory if you wish to work or examine or have an pressing medical assist, Pavlo says.

"If somebody's baby, to illustrate, refuses to sing the Russian anthem in school within the morning, the FSB [Russia's security service] will go to their mother and father, they are going to be 'pencilled in' after which something can occur."

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/a463/live/556283c0-3d6b-11f0-bace-e1270fc31f5e.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko A green van drives through the centre of Mariupol with a Russian mural in the background and a woman wearing a pink jump suit crossing the road" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko After greater than three years beneath Russian management, Mariupol feels "reduce off" from the surface world, says Pavlo

Pavlo survived the siege regardless of being shot six instances, together with to his head.

Now that he has recuperated, he feels he can not go away due to aged kin.

"Most of those that stayed in Mariupol or returned, did so to assist their aged mother and father or their sick grandparents, or due to their flat," he tells me over the cellphone after midnight so no-one will overhear.

The largest preoccupation in Mariupol is holding on to your private home, as many of the property broken within the Russian bombardment has been demolished, and the price of residing and unemployment has surged.

"I would say 95% of all discuss within the metropolis is about property: learn how to declare it again, learn how to promote it. You may hear individuals discuss it whereas queuing to purchase some bread, in your technique to a chemist, within the meals market, all over the place," he says.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/0b24/live/9b8405b0-3d64-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A damaged block of flats behind two new blocks built by Russia's occupying forces in February 2025" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock A lot of the houses in Mariupol broken in Russia's bombardment have now been demolished

Crimea has been beneath occupation since Vladimir Putin annexed the peninsula in 2014, when Russia's struggle in Ukraine started.

Iryna determined to stay, additionally to look after an aged relative but in addition as a result of she didn't need to go away "her stunning residence".

All indicators of Ukrainian id have been banned in public, and Iryna says she can not converse Ukrainian in public any extra, "as you by no means know who can inform the authorities on you".

Kids at nursery faculty in Crimea are informed to sing the Russian anthem each morning, even the very youngest. All of the lecturers are Russian, most of them wives of troopers who've moved in from Russia.

Iryna sometimes places on her conventional, embroidered vyshyvanka high when she has video calls with associates elsewhere on the peninsula.

"It helps us to maintain our spirits excessive, reminding us about our blissful life earlier than the occupation".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/e2f6/live/ea439ce0-3d6b-11f0-8731-19176ad798be.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A poster shows a clearly Ukrainian woman in traditional dress and her hands on her hips staring in defiance" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> This leaflet, in a tree in Crimea, reveals a Ukrainian girl in a vyshyvanka defiantly saying "Not yours"

However the dangers are excessive, even for carrying a vyshyvanka. "They may not shoot you immediately, however you'll be able to merely disappear afterwards, silently," she declares.

She speaks of a Ukrainian buddy being questioned by police as a result of Russian neighbours, who got here to Crimea in 2014, informed police he had unlawful weapons. "After all he did not. Fortunately they let him go in the long run, however it's so scary."

Iryna complains that she can not exit on her personal even for espresso "as a result of solders can put a gun at you and say one thing abusive or order you to please them".

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/004e/live/4869a740-3d5a-11f0-b6e6-4ddb91039da1.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Smoke billows from a rural landscape in Crimea" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> Native residents beneath occupation in Crimea share pictures of Ukrainian navy assaults on Russian targets on the peninsula

Resistance in Ukraine's occupied cities is harmful, and it typically is available in small acts of defiance aimed toward reminding residents that they don't seem to be alone.

In Melitopol, Mavka talks of being a part of a secret feminine resistance motion known as Zla Mavka (Offended Mavka) "to let individuals know that Ukrainians do not agree with the occupation, we did not name for it, and we are going to by no means tolerate it".

The community is made up of ladies and women in "just about all occupied cities", in line with Iryna, though she can not reveal its measurement or scale due to the potential risks for its members.

Mavka describes her function in operating the community's social media accounts, which doc life beneath occupation and acts like putting Ukrainian symbols or leaflets in public locations "to remind different Ukrainians that they don't seem to be alone", and even riskier practices.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/f19c/live/e11909a0-3d5e-11f0-b95e-89f9465859a0.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="A leaflet on a bench in Melitopol shows a mock-up of three women, one of them holding a Ukrainian flag in blue and yellow" class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> A leaflet on a park bench says the Mavka motion "has the ability", quoting the well-known phrases of nationwide poet Taras Shevchenko: "Struggle and you'll overcome"

"Typically we additionally put a laxative in alcohol and baked items for the Russian troopers, as a 'welcome pack'," she says.

Punishment for that form of act, which the BBC is unable to confirm, could be extreme.

Russia's occupation authorities deal with the Ukrainian language or something associated to Ukraine as extremist, says Mavka.

Ukrainians are effectively conscious of what occurred to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, 27, who disappeared whereas investigating allegations of torture prisons in japanese Ukraine in 2023.

Russian authorities informed her household she had died in custody in September 2024. Her physique was returned earlier this month, with a number of organs eliminated and clear indicators of torture.

<img sizes="(min-width: 1280px) 50vw, (min-width: 1008px) 66vw, 96vw" srcset="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/240/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 240w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/320/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 320w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 480w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 640w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/800/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 800w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 1024w,https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1536/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp 1536w" src="https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/74c2/live/462bf470-3d27-11f0-b1db-7b03bfaa8894.jpg.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images A woman holds a black and white photo of Viktoriia Roshchyna, which shows her looking straight down the barrel of the camera, and her hair tired into a pony tail." class="sc-d1200759-0 dvfjxj"/> World Photographs Ukraine by way of Getty Photographs Viktoriia Roshchyna was held first in Russian-occupied Melitopol earlier than being moved to jail in Russia

Silent disappearance is what Mavka fears most: "When abruptly no person can discover out the place you might be or what's occurred to you."

Her community has developed a set of duties for brand new joiners to cross to keep away from infiltration, and to date they've managed to keep away from cyber assaults.

For now they're ready and watching: "We can not take up arms and struggle again towards the occupier proper now, however we would like no less than to indicate that pro-Ukrainian inhabitants is right here, and it'll even be right here".

She and others in Melitopol are following carefully what is going on in Kyiv, "as a result of it will be important for us to know whether or not Kyiv is able to struggle for us. Even small steps matter".

"We now have a rollercoaster of moods right here. Many are frightened paperwork would possibly get signed that, God forbid, go away us beneath Russian occupation for even longer. As a result of we all know what Russia will do right here."

The fear for Mavka and other people near her is that if Kyiv does agree a ceasefire it may imply Russia pursuing the identical coverage as in Crimea, erasing Ukrainian id and repressing the inhabitants.

"They have been already changing locals with their individuals. However individuals listed below are nonetheless hopeful, we are going to proceed our resistance, we'll simply must be extra artistic".

In contrast to Mavka, Pavlo believes the struggle should finish, even when it means shedding his means to return to Ukraine.

"Human life is of the best worth… however there are specific circumstances for a ceasefire and never everybody would possibly agree with them because it raises a query, why have all these individuals died then in the course of the previous three years? Would they really feel deserted and betrayed?"

Pavlo is cautious of speaking, even by way of an encrypted line, however provides: "I do not envy anybody concerned on this decision-making course of. It will not be easy, black and white.

Iryna fears for Crimea's subsequent era who've grown up in an environment of violence and, she says, copy their fathers who've returned from Russia's struggle towards Ukraine.