Putin ‘on brink’ as underground Russian resistance to destroy army | World | News
An underground resistance group claims it has trained thousands of people in sabotage operations within Russia. As Vladimir Putin approaches the fourth year of his war with Ukraine, Russia is facing increasing resistance from within its borders. An example of the partisan groups turning Putin’s own soldiers against him is Atesh, a Crimean Tatar movement founded in September 2022. It has grown as the most prolific underground resistance groups, claiming responsibility for more than half of the sabotage attacks on Russian-controlled territory last year.
To slow down the war machine, the sabouteurs mostly target Russian infrastructure and supply trains. The attacks are mostly coordinated by Ukraine or people who gain financial rewards for the acts.
“Atesh precisely targets the weak points of the enemy’s power grid, paralysing their rear,” the group shared with its 52,000 followers on Telegram.
The core of Atesh – the name meaning “fire” in Crimean Tatar – consists of the Turkic ethnic minority that has long opposed the Russian rule. Some of the Crimean Tatars also include Ukrainians as well as a few Russians and Belarusians, according to its representative.
The anonymous representative told Al Jazeera: “We realised that Crimea and other captured territories would not simply wait for liberation; they must become a thorn in the occupier’s side from within. We are working for the systemic collapse of the Russian military machine from within. We are ensuring that every Russian soldier on our soil feels unsafe, and their logistics, equipment and headquarters are reduced to ashes.”
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Atesh was responsible for more than 50 percent of the acts of sabotage in Russian-occupied Ukraine in 2025. Dozens of its operations were reportedly within Russia, including setting fire to a locomotive in Rostov and destroying an air defence factory’s communications tower south of Moscow, Al Jazeera reported. Experts say the effect of these operations can force Russia to dedicate more resources to internal repairs, security measures and local policing.
The group’s representative told Al Jazeera they target facilities “critical for logistics or troop command, such as headquarters, bridges and ammunition depots”.
He said: “We use advanced encryption methods and train everyone in digital hygiene. Even when the FSB [Russia’s Federal Security Service] tries to infiltrate its provocateurs, our data verification and cross-checking system allows us to quickly mitigate the threat.
“We have active agents among the Russian armed forces, the national guard and even intelligence agencies.
“Some do this for ideological reasons, having recognised the criminality of war, while others do so for the sake of their families’ futures, realising the inevitable collapse of the regime. Their inside information allows us to know in advance about the movement of combat vehicles and what is happening in closed command bunkers.”
Atash agents also deploy lethal force – for example, the group allegedly killed several Russian servicemen by setting their truck on fire in Ukraine’s territory.
The Crimean Tatars are a Turkic people indigenous to Crimea who have faced repression since the Russian Empire’s conquest in the 18th century. Their greatest trauma came in 1944, when Joseph Stalin ordered the mass deportation of the entire population to Central Asia, accusing them of disloyalty despite many serving in the Red Army. Forced onto trains with little preparation, up to a third died during the journey. Modern Ukraine recognises this deportation as genocide.
