‘Invaders, don’t mess with Ukrainian women!’: Female resistance in action

in Melitopol, Berdiansk, Donetsk, and Crimea

Ukrainian article of the week published in the 60th edition of the "What about Ukraine" newsletter on January 9th, 2025. The article was written by Olha Dudenko for Champion and was translated for n-ost by Tetiana Evloeva Find the original article in Ukrainian here.

Ukrainian men and women who remained behind in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine are doing their best to take a stand against the pro-Russian authorities. Disregarding the danger of exposure, possible interrogation and search and seizure, they find ways to share their stories and stay in touch with the rest of Ukraine.

More people are getting involved in anti-Russian resistance movements, starting with one-off stunts, which can turn into something more impactful. This is how Zla Mavka began. Zla Mavka is a women's non-violent resistance movement, which originated in 2023 in Melitopol in occupied Zaporizhzhia. At first, they distributed anti-occupier leaflets. Today, the movement is a full-fledged operation supporting people in the settlements under military occupation and combatting Russian propaganda.

This piece tells their story, which relies on the testimony of people living under the Russian invaders, and highlights their achievements, and ways others can support them.

A women-built resistance

Zla Mavka [Ukr. Angry Mavka] was founded by three Ukrainian women who wanted to stand against the Russian military occupation, which had taken their city of Melitopol in March 2022. Russian propaganda was prevalent in the occupied territories, necessitating a counter-attack with pro-Ukrainian narratives and true news about the situation in other regions.

The logo of Zla Mavka consists of a mountain with a sun above it, forming a human figure. In Ukrainian mythology, Mavkas are attractive young ladies who lure young men into the woods to tickle them to death. To the women in this resistance movement, Mavka is the symbol of defiance against those who come to their land uninvited, and the power to fight off such intruders. By using a reference to traditional Ukrainian folklore, the movement shows how it confronts the stranglehold of Russian influence on the culture of the occupied Ukrainian territories.

One of the movement’s founders explained that the idea originated from friends making jokes in the kitchen. “Those were the kind of jokes that you make when trying to laugh off your urge to cry,” she said. “There was desperation heavily mixed with anger. As we were sitting there, joking and holding back our tears, we wondered if we were really unable to do anything about the situation we were in.”

A mission to spread real news

The women’s first operation was to distribute leaflets with messages that annoyed the hell out of the invaders, and placing these leaflets where the Russians could see them. Through a dedicated Telegram channel, they coordinated their activities. and shared their progress and results. Word spread, and others approached the founders, who never expected to cause such a powerful resonance.

Zla Mavka printed weekly newspapers featuring reports from different regions of Ukraine, which volunteers left in local parks, public gardens, and apartment blocks. They encouraged readers to pass on these newspapers to their neighbours, loved ones and acquaintances, so they could stay informed on the war crimes committed by the Russians.

The majority of the movement's activities are about spreading information. The women distribute brochures, leaflets, newspapers and posters calling for opposition to the invaders and sharing their hope to see a liberated Ukraine. But there are examples of active resistance. When Russian invaders knocked on the door of one of the founders, asking for food, she mixed in laxatives with the meal she served them. The participants emphasise that their resistance is non-violent, so their efforts are aimed at undermining the morale of the Russians and informing the local residents living under military occupation of the true situation.

However, they still put their personal safety in jeopardy, so the movement is based on anonymity.

The Zla Mavka holds both online and offline events, inviting the female residents of the areas temporarily under Russian military occupation to join. One can be a part of the movement by leaving a message with Zla Mavka’s chatbot (though this is currently down). This site has been an outlet allowing people to share their stories from the military occupation and to counter the crimes of the Russians, including their propaganda. They also have a website and Telegram channel.

A pumpkin for the invaders

One of Zla Mavka’s most ambitious campaigns is ‘Mavka’s money’, a print run of amended Russian banknotes. The women printed Russian Roubles with ‘improved’ designs featuring Mavkas with pro-Ukrainian slogans such as ‘Independence’ and ‘This is not Russia, we are in Ukraine’. This ‘new money’ was distributed in Melitopol, Berdiansk, Tokmak, Kakhovka, Simferopol, Sevastopol and Yalta.

The posters that the Mavkas shared over time included slogans like ‘Don’t want to leave Crimea? Well, you’ll have to!’ and ‘The Mavkas rock! Join us!’. One of their campaigns called for leaving pumpkins in the streets of Skadovsk, Simferopol, Sevastopol and Melitopol, with notes like, ‘Just as Ukrainian maidens offered pumpkins to unwanted suitors, we offer this pumpkin to the invaders. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!’

On the 8 March, in public areas, the invaders presented flowers to female passers-by, as a gift for women’s day. In response, the female partisans plastered posters all over their cities: ‘I don’t want your flowers, I want my Ukraine!’.

“Everything we do is meant to show the world that we are still here and that the resistance continues, that we never welcomed Russia into our settlements, and that we are unwilling to live with Russia here,” says one of the movement’s coordinators.

The movement was highly acclaimed by the human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk, actresses Anna Salivanchuk and Tania Pesyk, and MPs such as Olha Chaika and Solomiia Bobrovska. “I want to hug each one of you, and meet you in a liberated Ukrainian land,” Bobrovska told the movement’s founders and volunteers.

Building a diary of occupation

While little is known about the daily lives of Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied areas, any sharing of such information jeopardises the safety of people remaining there. That is why ‘the Mavkas’ write anonymous diaries available on their website and Telegram. There, one can find firsthand accounts from people of all ages, living in different settlements, about their daily lives, work, and relations with their families, while living under the Russian occupation.

Some share their recollection of the early days of the full-scale invasion. One woman describes how she can’t accept her boyfriend’s invitation to have coffee, as she is unsure whether she can trust him not to turn her in. Those living under occupation have to deal with the authorities stopping people in the street, and routinely inspecting the contents of their phone, as well as delayed wages, shelling that nobody can explain, and having to be sure their relatives are safe.

One website contributor from Starobilsk says: “Sometimes I think that all of this is just a nightmare that I’m unable to wake up from. I can’t accept the life I’m living. How come my entire life became this nightmare?” Most diary entries show how living under occupation impacts people’s daily routines, how even places they used to know and love become dangerous, and what helps them persevere under such extreme conditions. As a coping mechanism, one woman mentions an illustrated book on Mariupol from before the occupation that she flips through.

Opening communication to those under occupation

Most people who are trapped in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine do not have access to the latest news from the regions controlled by Ukraine. For them, any form of communication means that people in the rest of the country still remember them, and are waiting for them to be liberated. That is why Ukraїner, along with communication agency Postmen offer the opportunity for others to write to them.

Several establishments in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv give their visitors the chance to write a postcard in support of the partisans and people living in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. For instance, in Kyiv, such postcards can be found at Pure & Naïve, Ivan Franko Theatre and Mystetskyi Arsenal.

To support the resistance and the residents of the territories that are currently under Russian occupation, you need to:

• Either find an establishment offering blank postcards from Zla Mavka or grab any sheet of paper

• Write your words of support and/or gratitude

• Take a photo of that postcard/sheet of paper and post it as your story on Instagram, tagging @zlamavka

Ukraїner and Postmen also collaborated with clothing brand Femka, creating longsleeves branded with Zla Mavka. This features a quote from Ukrainian poet Lesia Ukrainka: ‘I would laugh to keep from crying’ on the back. This verse is a credo of sorts for the female participants of Zla Mavka.

Updates from Zla Mavka in English

Angry Mavkas post their updates on Telegram, sharing firsthand accounts of Ukrainians living under Russian occupation, both male and female. Most of those posts are excerpts from personal diaries, reflections on living under the Russian occupation and how it changed their daily lives, sketches of their daily routine and their involvement with the resistance, and photos from campaigns in different settlements and regions.

You can find updates on the Mavkas’ resistance activities on their Instagram. General information on the movement, their campaigns and ways to support them can be found on their website, in Ukrainian and English, so the stories of people living under occupation can be shared abroad. Their website also has a special section where you can share your own experiences and reflections on living under Russian occupation, safely and anonymously.