Ukrainian Resistance Fighters Poison 17 Russian Officers in Occupied Mariupol; 2 Dead

(Photo: ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images) A volunteer of the Espanola special force unit, a detachment of Russian football hooligans, guards at the football stadium in Mariupol on June 22, 2023, a former base of Ukrainian nationalist Azov battalion, in front of a banner reading: "Glory to Russia!". Mariupol authorities in exile said resistance fighters were successful in poisoning 17 Russian officers over the weekend.

It was alleged that Ukrainian resistance forces within Russian-occupied Mariupol have poisoned 17 Russian military officers at a celebration in the city Sunday (July 30).

According to the Telegram post of the spokesperson of the Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, two of the 17 officers poisoned were killed during a Russian Navy Day event in the city, while the other 15 remain in hospital in serious condition.

According to the Kyiv Post, Russian authorities suspected cyanide and rat poison were used in the operation when the food was served to the officers affected by the attack.

Mariupol fell to Russian forces in the first months of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine after a brutal siege that obliterated much of the city and killed thousands of civilians. Since then, city officials fled into exile and were replaced by a Russian puppet government.

Mariupol with an Ї

The Kremlin has since sought to portray the reconstruction of Mariupol as one of the triumphs of its invasion of Ukraine, which was highlighted by a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February to inspect a new apartment complex.

The city has become an important base for the Russian military as they defend the territory they are currently holding from a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, Kyiv maintains a network of resistance fighters operating in Russian-occupied territory, many of whom are civilians.

For Mariupol, the guerrillas there have adopted the letter Ї as a symbol of resistance to the Russian occupiers.

The letter "Ї" is not found in the Russian alphabet.

Other attacks by the Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, which Ukrainian media reported, include setting fire to a building housing Russian military personnel last October.

According to a report by the UK think tank The Royal United Services Institute, the Ukrainian resistance's main mission is to collect intelligence on the Russian military or help Ukrainian forces target Russian positions.

The report also noted that Ukrainian forces have engaged mostly in sabotage missions, and direct attacks like the poisoning of Russian troops are rare as they often require specialist training.