Russia Bans Ukrainian Resistance Movement Yellow Ribbon, Labels It ‘Extremist’

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday, Nov. 12, designated the Ukrainian civic resistance movement Yellow Ribbon an extremist organization and banned its activities in Russia, Russian state news agencies reported.The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by Russian Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan. News of his appeal first appeared on Oct. 26 in a notice published on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Justice. The hearing was scheduled for Nov. 12 and took place behind closed doors, according to Interfax Russia.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The court granted the prosecutor general’s request, accusing the movement of operating under the supervision of Ukrainian intelligence services and receiving financial support from countries Russia considers unfriendly.In a statement reported by the Russian Legal and Judicial Information Agency (RAPSI), the court claimed the organization threatened Russia’s territorial integrity and constitutional order and posed risks to public security.The decision is subject to immediate enforcement, according to the court’s press service.Yellow Ribbon emerged in April 2022 in southern Ukraine’s Kherson, then under Russian occupation, as a nonviolent resistance movement opposing Moscow’s invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territory.Its participants used symbolic acts of resistance, including tying yellow ribbons to trees, street signs and other public places, displaying Ukrainian flags, distributing pro-Ukrainian leaflets and painting graffiti. Other Topics of Interest Russian Ambassador to US Dies: Foreign Ministry Darchiev took up the Washington post shortly after Trump returned to the White House, following years as a specialist in Russia-US relations. The movement’s activities spread beyond Kherson to other Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities, including Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Crimea, which Russia occupied and illegally annexed in 2014.In November 2023, Yellow Ribbon organized a campaign called “Elon We Are Here!” in response to billionaire Elon Musk’s claims that there was no significant resistance in Russian-occupied Ukraine. Activists photographed messages affirming Ukrainian identity in places including Yalta, Melitopol, Makiivka and Luhansk.In November 2022, Yellow Ribbon became one of the recipients of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded that year to people of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky.Russia laid claims to Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions via illegal referendums in the occupied parts of those territories in late 2022. Kyiv and its allies – including the US – have refused to recognize their legitimacy.During the recent Abu Dhabi talks, Russia’s chief negotiator has vowed to reclaim “every inch of Russian land” to which Moscow has laid claims. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.