Russian President Vladimir Putin facing major revolt in occupied Crimean Peninsula

It’s not a traditional popular uprising.

But angry civilians resisting occupational forces isn’t anything new.

And they’re finding new and creative ways to do their enemy harm.

Reports are coming out of Russia of a deadly and complex scam that results in firebombing attacks on unpopular military conscription offices.

And a series of devastating attacks on barracks, transport links, supply depots and airfields in the occupied Crimean Peninsula are being attributed to freedom fighter forces.

Ukraine’s Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) reports the number of sabotage attacks being carried out by pro-Ukrainian residents is “systematic” and “increasing”.

The growing boldness of the partisans comes just a month after the Wagner group of convict mercenaries rebelled against its Russian military leaders and began a drive on Moscow. While the mutiny lasted just 24 hours, it shattered perceptions that President Putin was infallible and untouchable.

“The reality is that there are plenty of folks there who oppose the Russian occupiers and realise that their hour of liberation may be nearing, and so are keen to take part in expelling the foreign military power,” international affairs analyst Jason Smart told US media.

Ukraine’s intelligence service has claimed responsibility for the spectacular attack on the Crimea Bridge linking the peninsula to mainland Russia in October last year.

“It is one of our actions, namely the destruction of the Crimean Bridge on October 8 last year,” Head of the Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Malyuk said.

“There were many different operations, special operations. We’ll be able to speak about some of them publicly and aloud after the victory.

“We will not talk at all about others.”

But Putin’s troubles also reach much closer to home.

In the past week, there have been more than a dozen arson attacks on military enlistment offices across mainland Russia – from the capital Moscow to remote regional villages.

Those arrested all tell a similar story – they had been the victim of a financial fraud scam, and that burning down recruitment centres was how they’d get their money back.

Resistance fighters

“The peninsula is used by the Russians as a major logistical hub for the movement of forces and equipment deep into the territory of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) spokesman Andrii Yusov stated.

“Of course, any logistical problems are additional complications for the occupiers.”

Crimean resistance attacks range from molotov cocktails being hurled at Russian facilities to carefully placed explosive charges destroying railway junctions, bridges and combat aircraft.

Footage on social media shows the damage inflicted on a key Crimean transport hub at the weekend. The Chonhar railway bridge linking Crimea with occupied Kherson and Russia was hit, cratering its surface and severely warping the tracks.

Moscow-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo blamed “militants” for the attack and said the damage had “already been repaired”. He strangely accused the partisans of using 12 British-supplied air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

The adjoining Chonhar road bridge was severely damaged in a Storm Shadow attack in June.

In mid-July, explosions engulfed an arms depot at a Russian base in Mayskoye in northern Crimea, closing the arterial highway there.

“There was a fire on a military field. Investigators will find out the reasons,” Kremlin-installed head of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov said at the time.

Moscow later blamed “sabotage” after initially claiming the fire was accidental.

Several Russian warplanes were also destroyed in an apparent attack on a significant Crimean military air base. Moscow, however, again said their loss resulted from an “accident”.

The strikes appear to be a co-ordinated effort to hit transport infrastructure outside the range of Ukraine’s missiles and combat aircraft. And the 19km-long Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait to Russia has again been hit.

All are forcing Russia’s military to divert a growing number of troops towards guard duty and surveillance efforts. And navy amphibious landing ships are being forced to transport vital ammunition, supplies, troops and equipment as the road and rail networks are repaired.

“We are working to ensure that logistics do not allow them to restock,” Ukraine’s Southern Command spokesman Natalia Humeniuk said at the weekend.

Battle for hearts and minds

Russian citizens have been setting fire to military conscription offices for much of the past year, Russian media reports. Few appear to attempt to avoid surveillance cameras. And all claim they are victims of an implausible phone scam.

The scam reportedly involves a phone call, apparently from their bank, alleging a security breach of their account. After gaining access to their money, the scammers say it can be returned if they assist investigations by burning conscription centres “harbouring” the alleged fraudsters.

Among the firebombers are a 77-year-old woman from Kaluga, a 53-year-old St Petersburg man and a 24-year-old teacher from Rossosh. In the village of Aginskoe, a 17-year-old girl set fire to an enlistment office, claiming she had been convinced that a “traitor” was working there and revealing details about villagers fighting in Ukraine.

Russian media claims several “victims” had also been instructed to shout “pro-Ukraine slogans” as they attacked the offices.

Russian scammers? Ukrainian influence operatives? Or unhappy civilians?

Either way, diverting attention away from internal unrest and towards Ukraine would match Moscow’s well-established narratives.

“Amid the stresses of war, sociologists increasingly note the habit of Russians to take everything at face value without critically analysing the information presented to them,” Ksenia Kirillova wrote for the Jamestown Foundation think-tank.

And, since Wagner’s failed uprising, the Kremlin’s secret police are pulling out all stops to suppress any hint of unhappiness with Putin’s policies. Especially as a fresh mass-conscription campaign gets underway.

“With many of the most vocal anti-war activists already dead, imprisoned, or exiled, the security services are now targeting even mild whiffs of dissent,” Alexey Kovalev argued in Foreign Policy.

“Russians of all walks of life now face kangaroo courts and long sentences (in) prison or hard labour for something as trivial as a social media post.”

Jamie Seidel is a freelance writer | @JamieSeidel