National Resistance Center: Russia increases special forces in occupied Kherson Oblast

The number of Russian special services and military personnel patrolling for Ukrainian resistance fighters has increased in occupied Kherson Oblast, the National Resistance Center reported on Dec. 17.

The Center said that Russian occupation forces were increasing "counter-sabotage" efforts throughout the region to intimidate residents who passed information on to the Ukrainian military.

Separate radar reconnaissance units are reportedly trying to locate sources of radiation using satellite phones.

"The enemy is aware that the defense forces are using the equipment of the Iridium satellite communications operator for military purposes," the Center said.

The Center also reported that around 100 members of the Russian National Guard had been deployed to search the area for guerillas.

The Ukrainian military conducted incursions into  Russian-occupied territory in Kherson Oblast on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River throughout 2023, with raids intensifying in the summer and fall.

In the early weeks of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Russian forces occupied large parts of Kherson Oblast. Ukraine's counteroffensive in fall 2022 pushed the Russian military east of the Dnipro River.

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