Thread by @Textyorgua_Eng

#Russia unleashed terror to suppress the resistance of local residents in the temporarily occupied south #Ukraine.

@TextyOrgUA finds out who, how & why is persecuting the Ukrainians & what to do to avoid being detained by the "regime guard dogs"🧵

1/15

texty.org.ua/articles/10682…

Informants & traitors make up the backbone of "punitive bodies" in #Russia-occupied areas of #Ukraine: local councillors from pro-Russian parties, law enforcement officials of various ranks & #Kherson residents who have been opposing de-Sovietization in pre-war times.

2/15

Traitors have been long engaged in collecting information about the situation on the ground, leaking details of pro-Ukrainian activists & military. After #RussianOccupation their work became "legal".

Still, Russian collaborators remain scarce in numbers.

#RussiaUkraineWar

3/15

"If there were many of them, then they would have been able to set up Russia-appointed local administration much faster. They rely on extra support from Rossgvardia troops instead & resort to security firm employees to form local police units."

#RussiaInvadedUkraine

4/15

Mass persecutions & terror exerted by #Russia special forces in #Kherson phased over several stages.

First, they detained veterans & ex-soldiers. Next, they came after activists, journalists & pro-Ukraine politicians. Ordinary people also started to face mounting pressure.

5/15

"The police buildings were turned into actual torture chambers.

They could abduct you for literally anything: breaking the law or curfew or because they didn't like the look of you or your tattoo.

Some may be required to "repent", others asked to share information."

6/15

The detention conditions also varied: they could beat you, they could feed you, they may hold you for an hour or a week.

However, the common denominator for every detention was psychological pressure: people were made to believe that Russian authorities were here for good.

7/15

When it comes to political persecutions in the #Russia-occupied territories, FSB is known to be a larger part of the "repression apparatus", consisting also of Russian guard troops, semi-autonomous Chechen units & MGB - D/LNR's own punitive units of local collaborators.

8/15

"They do not have a central body coordinating these troops. What's more, there is fierce competition between different units. I was first abducted by the military, then I was brought in for interrogation with local collaborators, then with FSB, MGB & Kadyrov's soldiers."

9/15

Because Russian troops did not understand the attitudes of Ukrainian society they resorted to mass terror.

Although they managed to suppress resistance, they weren't able to convince people to get on their side. The lack of rallies was a sign of intimidation, not success.

10/15

The goal was to make sure no one believes anyone. Since public protests are based on solidarity & social capital, by removing the trust element Russia knew the collective protest will lose its efficiency. They could not believe pro-Ukraine rallies haven't been paid for.

11/15

They also carried out active propaganda - cutting off mobile & internet connection, turning off Ukrainian TV & radio, rewiring the network & switching onto #Russian broadcasting since the onset of #RussianOccupation.

Internet was the only source of news from #Ukraine.

12/15

"I advised all my friends to use VPN since the first days of the full-scale #UkraineRussianWar. Some companies provided VPN services for free for activists, journalists and any regular citizens. But even young people did not always understand what it is and how it works."

13/15

The experience of living under Russian occupation shows that the larger the city, the easier it is to hide and avoid being detained or abducted by the #RussianSoldiers and vice versa. Some of the smallest villages in #Kherson are yet to be reached by the #Russian invaders.

14/15

See the story in full:

texty.org.ua/articles/10682…

#RussianUkrainianWar #RussiaUkraineWar #RussiainvadesUkraine

15/15