- Source: Rukh Opuro
The Rukh Oporu (Ukrainian: Рух Опору) (MUN A0987) also known as the Resistance Movement is a corps-level unit of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine tasked specifically with organizing, establishing, funding, training and coordinating as well as directly partaking in the Ukrainian resistance in Russian-occupied Ukraine employing sabotage, psychological as well as direct and indirect forms of warfare to disrupt the activities of the occupying forces and to demoralize their troops. It was covertly established in 2014 but was formally established in 2021.
History
It was covertly established following the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014, and was officially established under the law "On the foundations of national resistance" in 2021 composed of partisan, underground and auxiliary forces.
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it heavily coordinated the Ukrainian resistance in Russian-occupied Ukraine. On 4 June 2022, the Corps destroyed a Russian communication center in the occupied Kharkiv Oblast. On 27 July 2022, it destroyed a group of Russian soldiers in Kherson Oblast and seized their documents. Yellow Ribbon movement was also organized by it. On 13 October 2023, the Corps conducted a sabotage operation in Melitopol targeting a train carrying fuel and ammunition, 150m railway and a locomotive were damaged. It also sabotaged ground communication lines in Luhansk Oblast. In August 2024, the corps released a video showcasing its operations in Yevpatoria in Crimea. Its operations were spread throughout the entirety of occupied territory. In September 2024, it published a video of a Molotov cocktail attack near a railroad in Crimea. Also, in September 2024, it conducted a demoralizing campaign using leaflets. In 2024, the number of the crops personnel was claimed to be in several thousands although the exact number was kept classified.
Operational secrecy
The number of personnel of the corps and the details of many of its operations are "state secrets" and are not disclosed including the name of its commander who's an undisclosed officer with the rank of a colonel. Even the families of the operatives are not provided information about the operations. It coordinated attack on the Lipetsk airfield damaging Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 aircraft and an ordinance factory in Nizhny Novgorod region that produced explosives for bombs and artillery ammunition as well as UAV strikes in Lipetsk, Tula, Ryazan, Oryol, Ivanovo, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow regions.
Tasks
The tasks of the detachment include:
Establishment, training, funding and providing equipment to resistance and partisan movements
Hindering the operations of Russian forces via sabotage operations
Special Operations
Preparation of Ukrainian citizens for resistance movements
Cyber operations
Nonviolent resistance
Covert operations within the recognized territory of Russia
Commanders
Colonel Vitaly Verbytsky
Structure
National Resistance Center
Kharkiv Resistance Center
Khmelnytskyi Resistance Center
Kyiv Resistance Center
Oleksandriia Resistance Center
Zakarpattia Resistance Center
Rukh Opuro North
Tactical Group Kruk