Prisoner from Kherson: They believed that Ukraine would not abandon its own people
During the months-long occupation of Kherson by Russia, the pro-Ukrainian movement against the “Yellow Ribbon” did not cease to operate in the city. DW spoke with activist Lilia Aleksandrova about her underground activities.
“Yellow Ribbon” is an underground civil opposition movement that was born in occupied Kherson after the Russian administration began to disperse pro-Ukrainian rallies and protect their participants at the end of April. The organizers of the movement – local students and young IT specialists – quickly found supporters in other Ukrainian cities that were under the control of the Russian Federation.
Coordinating through social networks and Telegram chats, Yellow Ribbon activists put up posters threatening collaborators in occupied cities in the summer, painted pro-Ukrainian graffiti and engaged in other underground agitation.
During the preparation for the so-called “referendum” on joining the Russian Federation, the composition of the “election commissions” began to be published in the movement channel in Telegram. Activists are happy for people to know all the locals who contributed to the Russian annexation. During the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region and in the south, activists began to transmit information about the locations of Russian missile forces, helping to deliver artillery strikes.
More than a thousand people from different regions joined the Yellow Ribbon activities, one of the coordinators told DW in October. Complete anonymity remained the main condition of their work. Only after the de-occupation of parts of the Kherson region did the names of some activists become known. A week after the release of the regional center, DW spoke with 52-year-old Lilia Oleksandrova, whom “Yellow Ribbon” called one of its main coordinators of the underground in Kherson. The movement, together with other representatives of the Ukrainian government and civil society, was awarded this annual Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament.
Now for Lilia Oleksandrova, the yellow ribbon is a symbol of freedom. Photo by Igor Burdyga / DW
DW: Ms. Aleksandrova, tell us how you got involved in the “Yellow Ribbon” movement?
Lilia Aleksandrova: In this way, I wanted to express my point of view, my attitude to racism, to the fact that they occupied my country, to inform them that they are unwelcome guests here. I thought for a long time how to do it myself. In the spring, we had pro-Ukrainian rallies here – people openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the occupation. I watched it from social networks, first I downloaded Instagram, then Telegram – I found out from different groups how and where these people gather.
At first, the rallies were without consequences, then they (Russian military and security forces. – Ed.) became more insolent – they say, after all, we occupied you, what kind of protests? There were crackdowns, stun grenades, the first victims… Then I saw a call in one of the chat rooms: to write “Kherson is Ukraine” on the walls. In a few days, I see that the entire Ushakov Street (the central avenue in Kherson. – Ed.) has already been stenciled. I took a picture and sent it to the chat operators, and I thought to myself: can’t I do that? I started making such blue and yellow ribbons from old things, stuck them on my clothes, hung them in my church.
Wasn’t it scary after the rallies were dispersed?
At what point did they start to draw? I carried this symbol throughout the occupation – you see, bracelets, ribbons, and a handkerchief was also on my backpack. I think, but how to stop? I also always have my phone with me, I only have it, and on it are all the photos of my work, all the videos. But somehow, in the end, many people in the city continued to wear Ukrainian symbols.
There was always a risk. Sometimes, you just draw something, and already the patrol is on its way. It was especially difficult in the summer – it gets darker late, so I could only study my area. Somehow I came out around five o’clock, waited a long time for the street to be empty – I have leaflets against the referendum, and the street is quite busy. I glued one, until I see – a passer-by is walking. Asks: what kind of ad are you selling? He looked closely, understood everything and said: “Aren’t you afraid? Take it away, because I’m still a star.” It turned out to be some rascal in civilian clothes. I was then with such a bag on wheels, full of postcards. At that time, I was afraid not so much that I would be caught, but that I would lose these postcards – I worked on them for an hour and a half every day, there was no printer, I had to write everything using a stencil. She peeled it off quickly and went on, and when the man disappeared, she stuck it on again.
The activist always carried a phone with pictures of her work with her. Photo by Igor Burdyga / DW
Did you choose where and what to draw yourself?
I began to be given tasks. The coordinators asked: “Lila, could you paint here and there?”. I’m not an artist, but drawing a ribbon is not such a big deal. My first paint was red – so that it would catch their eyes. Then the operators started throwing me a little money on the paint, because you won’t make much money on my help for the disabled. We had a kind of reaction to everything that the Rashists did – graffiti, leaflets against the issuance of Russian passports, against the referendum.
But in terms of information, they were aimed not only at the occupiers, I saw how these leaflets affect the people of Kherson – they restore faith in the fact that Ukraine has not abandoned them. That’s why I continued to do it – I promised that the Armed Forces would come and everything would be fine. Both in private conversations and through work on the street. At some point, a kind of graffiti battle began, our work was not even painted over, but corrected. Once, near the office of their traffic police, I painted “Kherson is Ukraine” on the poles. I can see that in a couple of days someone wrote on the picture: “Shit.” And two days later, someone, not me, wrote next to it: “Russia”. I took a closer look, came out: “Russia is shit”, well, it effectively evaluated me.
Did the Kherson underground communicate with each other? In general, many people knew about what you do?
I did not communicate directly with other participants of the movement, only through the coordinator. This was the main condition so that no one should be betrayed. I generally tried not to tell anyone about my activities, but my loved ones still guessed because I was constantly taking pictures of my work and that of others when I walked the streets.
Were you not overcome by despair, the feeling that you are alone in your struggle? After all, the liberation of Kherson took a long time and became a surprise for many.
Yes, once in the fall I was overcome by such a feeling, but not for long. But I am a religious person, I go to church and believed that God has not left Ukraine, and that God is stronger than all. She said: Lord, if I am doing the right thing, then protect me. After all, I was not alone in this, we in the church all prayed for the Armed Forces.
The dormitory of the University of Internal Affairs, destroyed by the strike of the Armed Forces after Oleksandrova’s attack. Photo by Igor Burdyga / DW
The “Yellow Ribbon” also helped the Ukrainian artillery to coordinate strikes on Kherson. Have you ever done this?
Yes, I collected data about where the occupiers were – what people were saying. But she always said: it should be checked. separately once, when I personally filmed how the police were in our school (it is about the Kherson branch of the Odessa University of Internal Affairs, on the dormitory of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a rocket attack on September 2. – Ed.) se occupiers, and passed on this information. They asked how close people live to it. Quite close, private houses across the narrow street already. But then I said that further intelligence was needed. The next day, I took a video of the Russian military just leaving there – also a kind of confirmation. It’s not that I was a great intelligence officer, there were many people in our city who were engaged in such things – my son also passed on the location of the rocket launch in Mykolaiv.
There are still problems with electricity and water in Kherson, shelling is becoming more frequent every day. Now, after your release, don’t you want to move to a safer place?
No, we are not going to leave, we will still be here. A bunch of postcards were brought to me the other day, I walked around my old places, pasted them anew. And what do you think? They are tearing it down again! So, we are still in their henchmen, our work is not finished yet.
Source: Ukrainian service DW
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