According to Ukraine’s National Resistance Center, information obtained from partisans operating in Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine reveals continued pro-Ukrainian attitudes among much of the local population.

In the occupied city of Mariupol, around 73% of residents harbor negative views toward the occupying regime and are trying to avoid getting Russian passports, the resistance network said.

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This resistance has reportedly prompted Russian occupation forces and the puppet administration in occupied Donetsk to intensify their authoritarian policing and crackdowns on locals.

By maintaining contacts with Ukrainian partisans behind enemy lines, the Resistance Center is able to gather valuable intelligence on public sentiment and the repressive governance tactics of the occupation authorities. The persistence of pro-Ukrainian resistance, even in areas under tight Russian control, underscores the failure to erase Ukrainian identity.

Earlier, the center reported, that Russian troops were taking Ukrainian teenagers from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to military camps to “re-educate” and to encourage them to join the armed forces.

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