On the weekend, a power cut shut down a train line carrying Russian weapons and supplies to the front line through the region of Bryansk in western Russia near the Ukrainian border.But this was no ordinary blackout. It was caused by a fire at a nearby substation set by an agent of the Ukrainian resistance movement, Atesh.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“Atesh precisely targets the weak points of the enemy’s power grid, paralysing their rear,” the group announced to its 52,000 followers on its Telegram channel.While Russia strengthens its grip over occupied territory in Ukraine, its forces are facing resistance not only on the front lines but from the back as well. Among the so-called partisan groups, Atesh – whose name means “fire” in Crimean Tatar – has emerged as the most prolific, claiming responsibility for more than half of the sabotage attacks on Russian-controlled territory last year.“We are currently in a war of attrition, and the role of internal resistance is becoming decisive,” the organisation’s coordinator told Al Jazeera over Telegram.“The occupiers cannot guard every truck or every metre of rail in their rear.”Atesh was founded in September 2022, seven months after the Russian military mounted a full-scale invasion of its western neighbour. While its core consists of Crimean Tatars, an ethnic minority with long-held grievances ag …
