Driven by fury and operating under constant surveillance, a resistance fighter recounts what life is like under Russian occupation
Dominic Nicholls Associate Editor (Defence).
Published 24 April 2026 6:00am BST
Members of Ukraine’s resistance movement work best in the shadows.
Orchestrating mass poisonings and car bombings is a high-risk strategy in occupied Ukraine, where Kremlin cameras monitor their every move.
If caught, members of the resistance are not imprisoned; they simply “disappear”.
Which makes it all the more remarkable that Petro Andryushchenko is prepared to speak to The Telegraph, insisting his identity is not hidden.
A clue to his motivation comes when asked about the covert operations undertaken with his colleagues.
“Yes, it’s very dangerous, but on the other hand, believe me, it’s very fun,” he says.
The resistance movement emerged in the early days of Russia’s occupation, starting small with protest signs and growing to assassination plots. It now resembles an underground network of different cells, each with different tactics, but a shared goal of ousting Russia from eastern Ukraine.
Andryushchenko embraces a prominent role in the resistance, and believes the Russians already know who he is, hence his willingness to speak publicly. He also believes it is his duty to inform the public about life in the occupied regions, now that he has escaped them.
But people have disappeared just for liking pro-Ukrainian social media posts, and the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) actively hunts Ukrainian sympathisers and activists.
He does not reject the suggestion that he takes such risks because he is no longer in the region and admits he is driven by “fury”.
“I want to describe some bright picture that’s about good feelings, responsibility, all kinds of things [but] the reality is that we want revenge.
“Fury is a better motivation, it’s a real motivation. We want to be back home and we are together fighting for that.”
Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Andryushchenko was an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol.
It was the city of his birth – although back then, in Soviet times, the city was called Zhdanov, the surname of one of Stalin’s key allies, Andrei Zhdanov. The city’s original name, Mariupol, was restored in January 1989, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Mariupol was never a pro-Russian city, although the inhabitants had lived contentedly with the interwoven history and culture it shared with Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky even celebrated his 2019 election win in the city by running through water fountains, hand in hand with children. Russia has since stolen the three fountains where he danced, and Andryushchenko says Russia has tried to exact revenge on the city ever since.
“Day by day, year by year, Mariupol was getting better than Russia. We haven’t got oil or gas or fashion, but we had a good life.”
It is the reason, he says, that Russia targeted Mariupol so heavily and why the city became a centre of resistance.
In 2023, the Russian-installed chief of police was badly injured in a car bombing. Four other Russian army officers were similarly blown up in a separate incident soon after. At another time, 20 Russians were injured after drinking vodka laced with poison during a national event.
Such operations have become very difficult to organise in recent years, as the Russians have installed CCTV widely across Mariupol and the FSB monitors civilian phone traffic.
Now, the resistance uses different methods, including producing films for TikTok and YouTube on subjects such as “How To Build A Bomb”.
Amazingly, Andryushchenko says it is not difficult to get explosives into the occupied territories. The corruption of the Russian system helps, he says.
“With corruption, you can send everything,” he says with a smile. Couriers have even used the German postal service to get items into Russia.
Andryushchenko’s heart is in Mariupol. Just living under occupation is stressful enough, he says.
“It’s very hard, Russian soldiers are everywhere and Russian citizens came to Mariupol. You can’t hear the Ukrainian language. You can’t see the Ukrainian colours; there is nothing in yellow and blue. These colours were cancelled.”
But what about people who go a stage further and actively resist, either by teaching their children the Ukrainian language, liking pro-Ukrainian social media posts, or refusing to take a Russian passport? How much pressure are they under, and what risks do they run?
“The cost of that is their own life,” he warns. “Everybody knows that if you show your resistance in public, you will be arrested and just disappear.
“It’s not like in Europe, where you may be arrested and put in prison until charged. No, you just disappear. Nobody knows where you are.”
What makes a good resistance fighter
Then, of course, there are those who choose to be active members of the resistance, taking the fight to the Russian occupiers. Where does this motivation come from?
“It’s a question of morality,” he says. “It depends on who the person [was] in peaceful times.
“I know lots of people in our resistance and, before the war, I never thought such people could be so successful.”
A good resistance fighter – a person able to pass messages, gather intelligence or plant bombs – is someone with “creativity, a powerful character and belief”, he says.
“You can’t just have hope. You have to believe that what you’re doing is the right thing. It’s in the mind, it’s not a question of age.”
The resistance movement grew from humble, ad hoc beginnings. It has no name, as such, and puts little effort into self-promotion, although there are some actors on social media – such as Atesh (“fire” in Crimean Tatar), a pro-Ukrainian underground resistance network – who have developed a brand name.
In the early days of Russian occupation, much resistance took the form of displaying signs, so that people knew that there were others just like them. It created a sense of community and established the networks. But it was dangerous to be so obvious. Lately, the resistance networks have become more cellular, such that each member knows few others and if arrested, can do little harm to the wider group.
“I don’t know how many people are in the network, and I don’t want to know, because if something happened to me, the network can still work.”
Recruitment to Ukraine’s resistance forces is no longer done by face-to-face interaction. Somewhat typically for this most technological of wars, initial contact between the Mariupol resistance and a potential member is done via a social media page on the Telegram messaging app.
The would-be recruit is asked to perform simple tasks to show that they are not Russian security forces, while concurrent background checks on open-source material, such as social media profiles, are carried out by the network.
The FSB has made many attempts to get in, all unsuccessful.
Andryushchenko is scornful of the opinions and teachings about resistance work he hears from international partners with whom he periodically interacts.
“I read a paper by Nato about how to organise a resistance. It’s a piece of nothing. It might work in Afghanistan, but in a European war, it’s a different thing.
“Europe has to be prepared for this war,” he warns.
For those still enduring Russian occupation, he has a message. “Be brave and wait,” he says. “We will be back. Definitely.”
“Andryushchenko embraces a prominent role in the resistance, and believes the Russians already know who he is, hence his willingness to speak publicly. He also believes it is his duty to inform the public about life in the occupied regions, now that he has escaped them.”
I don’t know why this brave and brilliant man has “gone public” at this time.
He is listed on LI as :
“Head of Center for the Study of the Occupation”
I have previously posted many of his outstanding and informative articles here.
Keep safe Petro.
I just went onto his LI site. It appears to have been hacked, or certainly disrupted, as hardly any of his posts can be found.
Comment from :
A well-known filthy kremtroll writes, under his pseudonym “Peter Salt” :-
Peter Salt
One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.
William Haslam
Reply to Peter Salt
Those fighting within Ukraine for Ukraine against those who have occupied are not terrorists. Those who illegally invade, attack and occupy another country are the terrorists. As much as that undermines your pro-Russian world view.
Jennifer Carter
I hope this article is not putting these people in more danger.
Peter Salt
Reply to Jennifer Carter –
He is a walt. True saboteurs keep their mouths shut. They never blab, even when caught.
William Haslam
Reply to Peter Salt –
Does it upset you that Ukrainians are fighting against invading, murderous, violent and vicious occupiers?
In terms of this man, you are making a claim that is unproven and presumably meant to attempt to undermine him and what is happening.
Shirley Pierechod
Reply to Peter Salt
I suspect he wants people enjoying freedom to know that those in occupied Ukraine are still fighting back, because we certainly won’t be hearing about it from the Russians.
David Guess
Bravo that man. Slava Ukraini 🫡🇺🇦💙💛
Cris DeCoeur
Nato advice for how to resist: Step 1- wait till the fighting is over. Step 2.
Shaun Nelson
Unsung Hero..Slava Ukraine 🇺🇦 ♥️
Nicholas Hilliard
Blowing up the enemy within your own country is defensive particularly when the war is ongoing and it diverts enemy resources away from the front lines.
“Yes, it’s very dangerous, but on the other hand, believe me, it’s very fun,”
I can easily imagine that killing russian scum is fun. It’s also a very important task.