When I was asked about the reason you chose and other Ukrainians to continue living under Russian occupation instead of escaping, the woman hesitated for a moment.
She said, “I cannot explain the feeling.” “It seems as if you did not believe that evil can win. Even after three years, people cannot think the time has come. They still think that the occupation will end. That is why they are still here and do not flee.”
Women, a member of the Zla Mavka female group, live in a city in southeastern Ukraine, which fell under Russian control a few days after Moscow launched its great conquest in February 2022.
Zla Mavka – translated as Mavka Furiosa, a female jungle spirit in Ukrainian folklore – is only involved in non -violent activities. But participating in any form of protest and speaking to Western media is very dangerous, and for this reason CNN It will not reveal the name or location of the woman.
She said CNN That life under Russian occupation is incredibly comprehensive and frightening.
“You can be arrested for anything. You have to worry about everything. You have to check your phone, and you should check what you have in your apartment, and you have to hide many things, you cannot say what you think and you cannot trust.”
US President Donald Trump explained that he wanted an end War in UkraineEven if that means more regional losses for Kiev. Trump claimed that it is “unlikely” that Ukraine recovers all its lands before the war, saying: “(Russia) took many lands, fought for them and lost many soldiers.”
This can include the birthplace of Zla Mafka in the woman’s hometown.
“People abroad always talk about lands and they may forget that they are not only lands. These are people. People here are still waiting. People did not move and do not want to change. Why should they (should) move from their homes?” He asked the woman.
like Russian forces are currently running Nearly five Ukrainian lands are home to about 6 million people, including a million children, who live in what the United Nations described as a “dark human rights situation.”
Stepan, 22 Ukrainian, who recently survived from a crowded area in southern Ukraine, to Jeuceon, who is under the control of Kiev, based on what the occupation forces could do first.
Stepan and his parents were arrested by the Russian forces in the summer of 2022. Your parents have been arrested for several months.
No family members have been informed of the reason for the detention. They were not convicted or accused of any crime.
When Stepan was released, he was separated from the rest of the family. It ended on the left bank of the Dnipro River, which is still occupied by Russia. His mother, Look, managed to escape to the government -controlled area after its release in the spring of 2023.
“I was very afraid,” Stepan said about the period in which he lived under occupation. And he told CNN.
Stepan was lucky – she managed to escape and met his family last month. It was repeated thanks to the “coordinated effort” that included the “angels”, a unit of Ukrainian special forces that save the weak people from crowded lands, according to Roman Maroco, head of the military administration of the city of Kerson. Stepan and his family said they were not allowed to share the details of the operation.
Qued consequences
One of the members of Stepan and Zala Mafka said that even the slightest doubt that you are a “supportive of the Akranians” that could have severe consequences for the people who live under occupation.
“My friends and acquaintances have often been taken because they do not want a Russian passport or not to register in the military service. They were taken and they were returned after a week with broken arms and legs, and sometimes presidents. There was a lot, we are talking about dozens of people.”
Human rights groups claim that Moscow has intensified its campaign to “Ross” has occupied Ukraine in recent months, and perhaps demanding areas of any peace negotiations in the future.
“They are trying to remove everything that is Ukrainian from our city, from language to tradition,” said a member of Zla Mafka, adding that one of his duties is to preserve the Ukrainian culture alive under occupation.
She said: “We are promoting the Ukrainian poems and the works of Ukrainian authors, and (celebration) of the Ukrainian, traditional holidays, only to remind everyone that this is not Russia, and it was never and will never be.”
She described to live in the city as “entering the time and returning machine to the Soviet Union.”
“There are ads, Soviet effects -like Soviet holidays, and we are always waiting for lines, such as Soviet times, to get help, go to the doctor or get documents. We need to wait for these long lines and there are no regular stores, and no brands … only things purchased in street markets and some Chinese products.”
The Russian authorities surveyed the national identity, religion and the Ukrainian language in occupied Ukraine. They organized fraudulent referendums to stick to Russia and forced the locals to become Russian citizens.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new decree ordering Ukrainian citizens living in these areas to “organize their legal status” by adopting Russian citizenship. According to the decree, those who do not do this until September will become foreigners and can only stay for a limited period.
But Moscow has forced many Ukrainians to accept Russian passports, because life is almost impossible and dangerous without them.
Those who do not have Russian documents are not entitled to the daily threat of imprisonment and deportation to Russia, and they are not entitled to work, and they do not receive health services or more basic pensions and are prevented from owning real estate.
The resistance woman said: “You cannot even call an ambulance without (a Russian passport). If you do not have a Russian passport, the ambulance will not come.”
Human rights activists have repeatedly claimed that Moscow violates international law by forcing the Ukrainian population to adopt Russian passports.
The woman added: “Then the big problem for men, men who (forced to obtain) Russian passports are now trying to fill them with the Russian army. They want to force them to fight their people.”
The risk of trying to go out
Millions of Ukrainians refuse to leave their homes in crowded areas – because they still believe that Kiev, with the help of their western allies, will liberate all their lands in the end.
There are also some of those who sympathize with Russia and are happy with the new regime – although both Zla Mavka and Siblan said they believed this is just a small minority.
“Often, they are people who had no very good life before. For example, they had no education and they had no good work, but now, if they were screaming loudly” I love Russia, “they will get a job, and they will receive help and money from Russia.”
SOS Donbass, a line of Ukrainian aid for people living in crowded and combat areas, received more than 5,7500 calls last year. Violet Artcock, director of the organization, said that most people ask for advice on how to go out safely, how to get help, and what effects of staying and forcing them to obtain a Russian passport, said Violite Artcock, Director of the Organization.
The Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly went to people in the occupied areas to do everything necessary to stay safe.
“If you need some documents, ask. This does not change your situation,” said Heorhi Tykhyi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after announcing the decree that requires Ukrainians in the occupied areas to become Russian citizens.
“The best solution, if possible, is leaving to the Ukraine region under control,” Tykhyi said.
But for many, leaving it is impossible because it is very dangerous, very expensive and very arduous.
“In theory, it is possible to go out, but it is necessary to pass through the examination,” said a security examination of a security examination operation led by the Russian forces in all the exits of the occupied areas.
“They are examining everything there, so … let’s say that there is a woman whose husband has been welded in 2014, and if they discover, she will face a big problem, then, for her, it is safer to try. But anything can be, such as a comment on social networks, and something on her cell phone, they can simply arrest her and correct her to Russia.”
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens were illegally detained and sent to Russia, CNN She documented the cases of people who were detained at Russian filter points and were later sent to thousands of kilometers from Ukraine.
It is impossible to cross directly from the occupied Ukraine of the government -controlled regions, which means that anyone who wants to flee must travel through Russia, leave Russia and then travel throughout Europe to Ukraine.
The woman said: “It is not easy to leave everything and become a refugee. You cannot sell your apartment, and you cannot cross the border with a large amount of money, and you cannot take a lot … so this is possible, but not everyone.”
So, at the present time, she and millions of others decided to stay and watch news from the White House and other places, terrified.
“People are very tense and very afraid of hearing it from negotiating and how our cities will become Russia; this is the biggest fear. But I can say that even if that happens, the resistance will not stop.”
