Russian-backed saboteurs operating in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials allege

A terrorist organization, Kharkiv Partisans, has been active in the region since July under the guidance of Russian intelligence services, announced at a Nov. 21 press conference Regional Prosecutor Yuriy Danylchenko and Oleksandr Pyvovarov, the director of the local Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The organization’s goals are to commit terrorist acts, damage and destroy important sites, and destabilize civic order and public security, they said. The group is constantly being reinforced materially and tactically by Russian intelligence agents, they said.

A large explosion occurred the night of Nov. 21 at a railroad station, which was heard and felt in many of Kharkiv city’s districts. The next day, the police said they opened a criminal case of an attempt to intentionally damage property. In a separate incident, local police discovered on Nov. 22 bags containing ammunition and camouflage at the main Kharkiv train station. The police linked neither indicdent to the terrorist group alleged to be operating in the region.

Zenon Zawada: It’s logical for the Russian intelligence agencies to be targeting Kharkiv for attacks, sabotage and terror. The city is Ukraine’s second-largest and the region has numerous valuable industrial and military sites. In addition, the pro-Putinist Opposition Bloc had the largest margin of victory in the Kharkiv region (excluding Donetsk and Luhansk) in the October parliamentary elections. However, the region also boasts a strong, pro-Ukrainian presence so we don’t expect mere sabotage efforts alone to succeed in destabilizing the region or causing it to fall under separatist influence.