Its representatives sometimes claim the eliminating Russian collaborators in occupied areas of Kherson Oblast or take photos of Russian ships stationed in Crimea.
At the same time, there’s little information about Atesh, as the partisans communicate with the world using their eponymous Telegram channel, which has over 50,000 subscribers. Judging by the messages posted there, they’re becoming more active, while the circle of their supporters is growing.
For several weeks, NV has been reaching out to representatives of Atesh (which means “fire” in the Crimean Tatar language), through contacts in Ukraine’s security services.
Finally, Eldar called our editorial office, introducing himself as the leader of the guerilla movement. During a rather careful conversation, trying to avoid divulging sensitive information about the organization, Eldar answered a dozen of our questions.
NV: How did the Atesh movement begin?
Eldar: The Atesh movement originated in Crimea in the summer of 2022 among Crimean Tatars and Ukrainians. At that time, it was clear that Russia would likely launch a mass mobilization [of local population], so it was decided to use this situation to create a resistance movement. The first participants included those who already had experience of resisting the [Russian] invaders.
NV: What were the movement’s first steps?
Eldar: They included disabling [Russian] military equipment, sabotaging railway tracks in Crimea and Kherson Oblast.
NV: Approximately how many people were involved initially? How was the system built?
Eldar: At the beginning there were just a few of us, up to a dozen people. However, more joined over time. Eventually, the number of participants grew to almost 2,000 active agents, both military and civilian. The movement’s system was built through strict vetting of new recruits and autonomous operation of most of them to avoid leaks. A key component was the establishment of autonomous centers across the occupied territory of Ukraine and in Russia proper.
Atesh is now present in the entire temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, as well as Russia, from Kaliningrad to Siberia. Our agents operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Tolyatti, Perm, Anapa, Yeysk, and many other Russian cities.
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NV: How is the movement structured?
Eldar: It’s based on the principles of agent autonomy, strict filtering of new members and maintaining communication through secure channels. The movement consists of political, ideological, and combat wings, with each performing its functions to achieve a common goal.
NV: Could you tell us more about your activities?
Eldar: It involves intelligence gathering, sabotage and information work. In addition, the movement actively recruits new agents and maintains contact with other organizations. The destruction of enemy military targets and important infrastructural facilities used for military purposes are our key focus areas.
The Atesh Public Force, which unites civilians who help fight against the invaders plays a special role in the movement.
Activists of this movement collect information about the plans of the occupation authorities, mobilization measures, and repressions committed by the enemy. They distribute leaflets, posters, stickers and other materials to inform the public about the movement’s activities, stimulate resistance, and recruit new members. Our activists also punish ‘z-patriots’ [jingoistic supporters Russia] by damaging their vehicles. Through their actions, they strengthen the morale of the local population, showing that resistance is possible, and that there are those actively fighting against the invaders.
NV: What did Atesh achieve in two years?
Eldar: Atesh has grown into the largest partisan movement covering the entire occupied territory of Ukraine and Russia. We’ve got the ability to obtain information from key Russian state structures and carried out many successful operations.
For example, we blew up the railway track between Radensk and Abrykosivka in Kherson Oblast in March 2023.
In July 2023, we blew up a Russian contingent in the village of Velyki Kopani in Kherson Oblast.
In April 2024, we struck a Russian National Guard checkpoint in Kherson Oblast.
In September 2023, we guided a missile strike on the Sevastopol Bay, which resulted in the destruction of the Minsk large landing ship and the Rostov-on-Don submarine.
On Sept. 22, 2023, Atesh agents coordinated an attack on the Black Sea Fleet HQ. The operation caused the partial destruction of the building and significant losses of the Russian military personnel, including senior commanders. This significantly affected the operational capabilities of the Black Sea Fleet.
Atesh agents played a key role in guiding air strikes on airfields, in particular, in Saky, Dzhankoy, and Kacha. This is our home and won’t let the invaders abuse us.
We also sabotaged the railway in Russia’s Tambov Oblast, which suspended its use for the transportation of missiles, etc.
NV: How does the enemy react to these actions?
Eldar: The Russians are stepping up their counterintelligence work. They’ve recently sent many new FSB [Russia’s security service] agents to occupied Ukrainian territories. The FSB HQ in Moscow is extremely dissatisfied with its local branches. They’re very concerned about the growing resistance among Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars. The invaders are actively opposing our movement, using repression. They continue their attempts to identify our agents and suppress Atesh activities, but to little avail.
NV: Do you coordinate your actions with other organizations?
Eldar: Yes, Atesh maintains contact with other organizations, such as Mariupol.Resistance and Berdyansk Partisan Army, as well as with Ukraine’s Defense Forces.
NV: How do you approach sabotage operations?
Eldar: Analyzing the received information, we develop operations. Our coordinator assigned to each agent provides support and assistance in the implementation. Sometimes we engage third-party agents to help supply necessary materials, such as explosives. In fact, each operation is unique and requires special preparation. We then show some of our sabotage operations on our Telegram channel.
NV: You had previously indicated that Atesh has agents even in the Russian military. Who are these people, why do they work with you?
Eldar: Indeed, Atesh agents include Russian military servicemen. We manage to attract both active military personnel and mobilize our agents into specific enemy units. They carry out sabotage, disabling equipment in military units and transmitting information about the location of their units in occupied Ukraine. They also transmit internal information about the state of affairs in Russian units and many other important documents.
These may be Ukrainians mobilized from occupied territories, or even Russians who don’t support armed aggression against Ukraine. They reach out to our movement via Telegram channel and join it to fight against the invaders. For example, a Russian Black Sea Fleet servicemen supplied us with information about the whereabouts of high command and other important data.
NV: How have Atesh’s priorities changed over the past two years? What is your focus now?
Eldar: Our priorities have remained unchanged: the liberation of all the occupied territories of Ukraine. The most important thing right now is the support and expansion of our network of agents, as well as sabotage and information work. The movement is also focused on preparing our units to assist Ukraine’s Defense Forces in case of a counteroffensive operation to liberate the occupied territories.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Eric Malinowski
