Washington (CNN)U.S. officials have been trying to assassinate pro-Russian authorities over the past two weeks in a resistance campaign against professionals It says it suggests a surge in-Russian authorities occupying part of southern Ukraine.
Kherson "is facing increased partisan activity in southern Ukraine," said the Director of National Intelligence, saying it could pose a significant challenge to Russia's capabilities. Avril Haines said at a conference in Washington, DC on Wednesday.
Ukraine has also launched a limited counterattack near Kherson, putting additional strain on Russian troops.
This region is important for Russia's domination on the Black Sea coast of Ukraine and controls access to the Crimean Peninsula. It is unknown how many Russian troops are in or near Kherson, but the occupation of hostile locals requires far more soldiers than peaceful territorial occupation.
Russian leaders have prioritized military operations at the expense of governmental similarities. "It's clearly not something they can invest in right now," said a US official.
Trio of attempted assassinations
The first attack at Kherson occurred on June 16th, when an explosion shattered a window on a white Audi Q7 SUV. The vehicle remained severely damaged, but the target of the attack survived.
Eugene Soborev, the pro-Russian prison chief of the occupied Kherson, was hospitalized after the attack, according to the Russian national news agency RIA Novosti.
In less than a week, Kherson's second pro-Russian official was targeted. This time the attack was successful. On June 24, RIA Novosti reported that pro-Russian official Dmitry Savlucenko, who was in charge of the Youth Sports Bureau in the Kherson region, was killed. Serhii Khlan, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian Kherson junta, called Savluchenko a "traitor" and said he had been blown up in his car. Clan declared, "Our partisans have another victory."
On Tuesday, a third pro-Russian official's car fired in Kherson, but officials were not injured, according to Russian national news agency Tass. It is unknown who made the attack.
There seems to be no central command to guide systematic resistance, officials said, but attacks are increasing in frequency, especially in the Kherson region occupied by Russia in March at the beginning of its invasion. ..
Sources familiar with Western intelligence are wondering if resistance will evolve from a partisan attack to a more organized campaign that can manage the attack and provide weapons and instructions. , More skeptical
So far, it has not dented Russia's control over Kherson, emphasized by sources familiar with Western intelligence.
But in the long run, the United States estimates that Russia will eventually face a counterinsurgency from local Ukrainians.
"I think Russia will face significant challenges in trying to establish a stable government of all kinds in these regions. I'm afraid."
Difficult to rule Russia
On Tuesday, Russian-appointed authorities in the Kherson region were elected hours before announcing their next plan. A referendum to join Russia, which arrested the mayor of Ukraine, Ihor Kolykhaiev. The pro-Russian civilian government has accused Korihaiev of encouraging people to "believe in the resurrection of neonatism."
Kolykhaeiv's adviser said Russian authorities also confiscated hard drives from computers, plundered safes and searched documents. Earlier this month, Ukrainian troops said the "invaders" had invaded Kherson State University and kidnapped the president.
The Russian army gradually established the ruble as the local currency and issued a Russian passport.
In Mariupol, pro-Russian authorities celebrated the so-called "liberation" of the city in May. The Donetsk People's Republic, which is affiliated with Russia, changed the road sign from Ukrainian to Russian and installed a statue of an elderly woman holding the Soviet flag. Meanwhile, the iconic Mariupol sign, painted in Ukrainian colors, has been repainted in Russian colors.
Despite Russia's efforts to eliminate Ukrainian history, nationalism and nationalism from Kherson and other occupied territories, the Ukrainian population has shown a willingness to resist.
"Occupants and local collaborators are speaking more and more about the Kherson region joining Russia," Ukrainian officials said last week. "But every day, more and more Ukrainian flags and inscriptions are cities."
Attempts to forcibly erase Ukrainian culture and determine Russian hegemony are in some cases the opposite. A senior NATO official said it produced an effect.
"There were reports of attempted assassinations on some of the quiz rings assigned as governors, mayors [and] business leaders," NATO officials said. The quiz ring is a traitor who works with enemy forces, named after a Norwegian official of World War II who worked with the Nazis. "It almost certainly discouraged Russian sympathizers and Russians, or those who took them there to rob them from their first pick-up."
{66. } As a Helson occupying force, Russia, which appears to be particularly intended to maintain control, needs to provide basic services in the areas it manages, such as clean water and trash picking. However, the United States has assessed resistance as making it difficult to govern and provide basic services, one US official said.The United States knew that there was a "serious resistance network" in Ukraine that could be taken over if the military failed, officials said. Prior to the invasion, the United States expected a rebellion to emerge, coupled with the guerrilla warfare, after a short period of fierce battle that Russia won. But the war has been going on for months now, and many analysts predict a much longer conflict.
US officials warned Russian responders before the conflict that they would face a rebellion if they tried to invade Ukraine and occupy their territory. However, the warning became deaf and the invasion progressed. This was partly caused by arrogance and bad intelligence.
Russia believed that its troops would be greeted with open arms and would soon crush resistance. The false fantasy quickly collapsed, but it did little to change Russia's President Vladimir Putin's calculations.
Kofman states that it is unclear what kind of governance framework Russia is trying to create to exercise control, but that it intends to maintain its territory. There is no mistake. After facing a protracted bloody rebellion in Afghanistan and Chechnya, the Kremlin knew that he would anticipate another potential rebellion in Ukraine.
"They saw it coming," Kofman said. "That's why they set up filtration camps and sent so many inhabitants out of the occupied territories."