In recent days, Ukrainian resistance groups have intensified their sabotage campaign in Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast, targeting Russian operatives and a military base stocked with combat vehicles and ammunition.

According to Mariupol’s city council, Ukrainian partisans carried out a car bomb attack in the Prymorskyi District on March 27, seriously injuring a Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer.

This followed a similar bombing on February 28, when a vehicle carrying an FSB officer was detonated in the same district, injuring the officer. The Mariupol Resistance group claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

On March 23, Ukrainian partisans set fire to a Russian military base on Verkhni Adzhakhy Street, destroying multiple vehicles and ammunition. 

The Mariupol Resistance group said that they used photos shared by local bloggers to pinpoint the base’s location before launching the attack. The operation, which took place on the city’s right bank, was confirmed by both the Mariupol City Council and Petro Andriushchenko, advisor to the mayor of Mariupol.

Mariupol, a vital Ukrainian port city on the Sea of Azov, fell to Russian forces in 2022 after a brutal siege. Its strategic significance stems from its status as a key industrial hub and its potential role in establishing a land corridor between Russia and annexed Crimea. The siege left much of the city in ruins, with estimates indicating that up to 90% of residential buildings were damaged or destroyed.

Despite Russia maintaining control over Mariupol since 2022, local resistance groups—including Mariupol Resistance and ATESH—continue to carry out sabotage missions. In response, Russian forces ramped up security, conducting mass arrests, document checks, and increasing patrols throughout the city.