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National Resistance Center: Occupiers in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts recruit informants from unemployed residents

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National Resistance Center: Occupiers in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia oblasts recruit informants from unemployed residents
The aftermath of Russian shelling in Kherson on Nov. 11, 2023, the one-year anniversary of the city's liberation. Parts of Kherson Oblast remain under occupation by Russian forces. (Ivan Antypenko / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Russian-installed proxies in the occupied areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are creating networks of informants by recruiting unemployed residents, the National Resistance Center reported on Nov. 20.

The Center said that once recruited, the collaborators pass information about other local residents with pro-Ukrainian views to the occupying authorities.

Recruits also share information about people with connections to the Ukrainian military.

The Center reported in July 2023 that unemployment rates were growing in Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories, particularly in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk oblasts.

Under Article 111 of Ukraine's Criminal Code, willingly aiding a foreign state in "subversive" acts against Ukraine is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said on Nov. 14 that it was investigating over 8,000 cases of suspected treason.

Under deadly attacks, Kherson fights to keep life going 1 year after liberation
Sitting in a pitch-dark kitchen with just the flashlight on, 70-year-old Viacheslav Bezprozvanyi warned of an incoming shelling as soon as he heard a swish over him. Split seconds later, a thick thud of shelling hit the ground a few hundred meters away. The house shook, knocking off a
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Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

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