Natalka Cmoc, Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine of Ukrainian descent, has revealed a new tattoo—the logo of the women-led partisan movement Zla Mavka. According to the diplomat, in this way, she wants to express support for Ukrainian women living under Russian occupation.
Zla Mavka is a Ukrainian resistance movement founded in 2023 in the city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, seized by Russian troops. Three brave Ukrainian women who decided that living under occupation was unacceptable started the group’s activity. It operates both online and offline. Activists place pro-Ukrainian posters, announcements, leaflets, and other critical materials in occupied towns and villages.
The group’s name and imagery draw from Ukrainian mythology: the Mavka is a mystical forest spirit, similar to a mermaid, appearing as a beautiful woman in a white shirt with long, loose hair.
The Mavka is also the central figure in The Forest Song, one of Ukrainian writer Lesia Ukrainka’s most famous masterpieces. To the founders, the Mavka symbolizes the power and strength of Ukrainian women.
Other partisan initiatives are also active in the occupied territories despite Russia’s threats.
According to The Guardian, teenagers are organizing book clubs to preserve Ukrainian identity, while Russian-installed authorities are burning literature and do not allow the study of the Ukrainian language and culture. Meanwhile, the resistance group Atesh has recently reported a successful cyberattack in Crimea, hacking the websites and phone of a Russian air defense commander.