Thread by @YagoRodri1

🇺🇦⚔️THREAD - #Partisan Warfare in #Ukraine

Some folks have been asking me about partisan warfare in Ukraine, I've been studying it since the start of the war so let's do a short thread on it!

Everything starts with the territorials!

But first, let me present two ideas:

Generally speaking partisan warfare means guerrilla, while insurgency means guerrilla+subversion, however both there are alternative definitions for both concepts.

Check Department of Defense Dictionary irp.fas.org/doddir/dod/dic…

Second, partisan movements can focus on two categories:

1. Urban or rural
2. Guerrilla vs state OR guerrilla supporting a regular army against another regular army.

In the case of Ukraine, partisan warfare was conceived as part of the "national resistance" against Russia.

Yup, the law on National Resistance got approved by the Rada on became legally effective on 1st January 2022.

uatv.ua/en/law-on-foun…

NR law is key to the Territorial Defense Forces, whose mission is not just to manage the rearguard to increase the leverage of the Army or provide the later with some basic infantry units to solidify the front...

(Can check this article on them)

thepoliticalroom.com/la-defensa-ter…

Yes, the territorial forces on the occupied territories were conceived as the seed of partisan warfare against the occupier, in order to keep the flame of resistance alive while at the same time supporting the regular army to get back the occupied territories.

Arguably they were also conceived as a deterrence tool, in order to create cost-increasing measures against a new Russian military intervention.

Also open-source information from Ukrainian sources show that territorials as well as partisan warfare in general are coordinated by the "SNO", the Special Forces branch of the Ukrainian Army.

Interestingly, the NSO is an innovation induced by U.S. support to Ukraine.

So what are the partisans concentrating in and where are they operating?

Apparently, most partisan activity has been taking place in Kherson and Melitopol.

Their main missions are:

1. Information gathering, locate Russian positions and military deployments, while probably helping to assess Ukrainian strikes.

By taking advantage of smartphones, Ukraine established the "satellite network of the poor" we could say.

2. Targeting the collaborationist as well as the top functionaries of the occupiers administration.

To succeed they use both assasination & subversion -propaganda-.

For example this image shows on of such actions, it reads "Partisans see everything".

3. Targeting critical infrastructure out-of-range for Ukrainian long range weapons as it happened with the Melitopol bridge.

Railroad & bridges are their most lucrative objectives.

4. Using leaflets, painting symbols and propaganda in order to keep the resistance alive so the civilians stay prone to support the partisans.

As a curiosity, they tend to use yellow ribbons or the " Ї" letter as symbols, the later because it is present only in the Ukrainian alphabet.

I could add the name of a few partisans, direct action operations, use of UAVs, Russian soldier assasinations... However I do not want to extend the thread too much, so let me add a conclusion.

I would say that this is more urban than rural guerrilla, while it is possible that information gathering mission is much more important than direct action operations. Ukrainians tend to prefer explosives over light weapons by the way.

How effective is partisan warfare?

We do not have enough information to assess that, but bear in mind that most times partisans can never succeed without the support of the regular army.

Also I suspect that partisan activity has been planned and improvised "on the march".

In a future thread I may write about Russian COIN effort...

🙏 I appreciate a lot If you can share this thread, as I am PhD candidate on insurgency military innovation and even if insurgency is minor in this war it still plays a role.

Have a nice day! 🍻

cc I hope this thread on partisan warfare in Ukraine may be interesting enough for you: @Rebel44CZ @oryxspioenkop @WarMonitor3 @UAWeapons @RALee85 @SpencerGuard @AbraxasSpa @jesusfroman @bayraktar_1love @JominiW @igorsushko @Arslon_Xudosi @HeliosRunner

cc ¡Hilo sobre la actividad partisana de esta guerra, agradecería rt! @REjercitos @will_pulido @FranMatiasBueno @jpereztriana @CozarBeatriz @AlbertoBueno_ @saintjavelin

Their main missions are:

1. Information gathering, locate Russian positions and military deployments, while probably helping to assess Ukrainian strikes.

By taking advantage of smartphones, Ukraine established the "satellite network of the poor" we could say.

2. Targeting the collaborationist as well as the top functionaries of the occupiers administration.

To succeed they use both assasination & subversion -propaganda-.

For example this image shows on of such actions, it reads "Partisans see everything".

3. Targeting critical infrastructure out-of-range for Ukrainian long range weapons as it happened with the Melitopol bridge.

Railroad & bridges are their most lucrative objectives.

4. Using leaflets, painting symbols and propaganda in order to keep the resistance alive so the civilians stay prone to support the partisans.

As a curiosity, they tend to use yellow ribbons or the " Ї" letter as symbols, the later because it is present only in the Ukrainian alphabet.

I could add the name of a few partisans, direct action operations, use of UAVs, Russian soldier assasinations... However I do not want to extend the thread too much, so let me add a conclusion.

I would say that this is more urban than rural guerrilla, while it is possible that information gathering mission is much more important than direct action operations. Ukrainians tend to prefer explosives over light weapons by the way.

How effective is partisan warfare?

We do not have enough information to assess that, but bear in mind that most times partisans can never succeed without the support of the regular army.

Also I suspect that partisan activity has been planned and improvised "on the march".

In a future thread I may write about Russian COIN effort...

🙏 I appreciate a lot If you can share this thread, as I am PhD candidate on insurgency military innovation and even if insurgency is minor in this war it still plays a role.

Have a nice day! 🍻