28 August 2025
Opening of the Fourth International Forum of the Crimea Platform Expert Network
Today, the Fourth International Forum of the Expert Network of the International Crimean Platform has begun in Kyiv. The event brought together Ukrainian and international experts, as well as government officials, to assess the current situation facing Ukraine. The main objective of the forum is to keep the issue of the occupied territories at the forefront of public and state attention and to develop key recommendations for the government and international partners, with a view to further advocacy within the framework of the Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform in Sweden.
Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, opened the forum, highlighting its role in elaborating new measures to bring russia to justice.
“The forum serves as a platform to unite efforts by Ukraine, international allies, and civil society to secure safety guarantees, pursue justice for international crimes committed by russia, and work toward accountability and redress,” Skrypnyk said. “It’s about finding practical solutions and drafting recommendations.”
During the Fourth International Forum of the International Crimea Platform Expert Network, Deputy Chief of Staff to the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva called on the international community to become more actively involved in the return of prisoners and children:
“We call on the international community to fight even more actively for the release of civilians – journalists, human rights activists, abducted children, prisoners of war. At every negotiation, one of the most important issues is the humanitarian issue. I ask the international community to pay attention to this, because unfortunately, there has been little progress in returning civilians and abducted children.”
“Crimea has always been and will remain part of Ukraine,” he added. “Ukraine will never accept any attempt to legitimize the occupation. We are forced to repeat this to the world every day. Crimea is not just land – it is people.”
Mariana Betsa, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine, stated during the Fourth International Forum of the International Crimea Platform Expert Network that the issue of Crimea is the cornerstone where russian aggression began and where it must end with the de-occupation of the peninsula.
“The issue of Crimea is gaining particular attention now, on the 80th anniversary of the UN. We understand that we must do more to draw the international community’s attention to de-occupying Crimea. This year, as every year, we are advancing a resolution at the UN General Assembly on human rights violations in the occupied peninsula,” she said.
Betsa emphasized that, in the pursuit of restoring justice, it is crucial to achieve international recognition of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as an act of genocide against their people.
It is particularly important for Ukraine to raise awareness about Crimea’s political prisoners, including through mentorship support programs. This was noted by Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
“We know that over 200 people (in Crimea – ed.) are political prisoners. Therefore, it is crucial to speak about them not just as statistics, but to say their names,” said Kuryshko.
Former political prisoner and freelance journalist for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Vladyslav Yesypenko, stated that Russia has created unbearable conditions for Crimean Tatars in Crimea, subjecting them to systematic persecution. russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) frequently coerces men into confessing to fabricated crimes, often under threats against their wives or children.
“For more than four years, I was imprisoned in russia for a crime I did not commit,” Yesypenko said. “In russia, and under occupation, anyone who opposes putin’s policies is accused of terrorism and handed long prison sentences. Now in Crimea, a targeted genocide of Crimean Tatars is underway. People, often strangers to one another, are accused of belonging to the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization and sentenced to lengthy terms in prison.”
