02 June 2026
Weekly update on the situation in occupied Crimea on June 2, 2026
Main News of the Week
▶ The Turin City Council has passed a resolution in support of unlawfully detained Ukrainian civilians and deported children. Council members unanimously condemned human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearances. They also plan to appeal to the Russian Embassy in Italy demanding the immediate release of all captives, including political prisoners from the temporarily occupied Crimea.
▶ The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian drone operators have taken under fire control the road between the occupied cities of Berdiansk, Melitopol, and Dzhankoi.
▶ Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces within the Ukrainian Armed Forces Robert (“Madyar”) Brovdi reported that drone operators had destroyed a Russian “Pantsir-S1” anti-aircraft missile and gun system in the village of Novofedorivka in the Yevpatoria district. The system is estimated to be worth approximately $15 million. It is one of the key elements of Russia’s air defense system.
▶ Additionally, on the night of May 30, the 412th Nemesis Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces struck a maritime oil terminal in occupied Feodosia. As a result, the peninsula is experiencing a fuel shortage, and the occupiers are restricting the sale of gasoline, particularly of A-95 and A-92.
Crimes Committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of April 23, 2026, 303 people in the territory of occupied Crimea are subject to the policy of political persecution, 164 of whom are Crimean Tatars and 1 is a Karaite.
▶ Remzi Kurtnezirov, the former imam of the Crimean mosque in the village of Lobanove, whom the occupiers sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in the organization “Hizb ut-Tahrir,” delivered a speech during the court proceedings. In his speech, he denied the charges of “organizing the activities of a terrorist organization” and “preparing for a violent seizure of power.” He emphasized that he did not hold the religious gatherings he was accused of and did not prepare any crimes. Kurtnezirov also told about his poor health, specifically the effects of three strokes, his disability, diabetes, hypertension, and problems with his lower limbs, as well as the violent actions of FSB officers during a search of his home.
▶ Servet Gaziev, a 66-year-old Crimean Tatar political prisoner, was transferred to the hospital at Penal Colony No. 5, located in the Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, due to his deteriorating health. According to the political prisoner’s sister, Svetlana Ablyamitova, Gaziev suffers from high blood pressure. The occupiers illegally sentenced him in 2023 to 13 years in prison for participating in the organization “Hizb ut-Tahrir”, which Russia considers “terrorist”.
▶ The health of Crimean political prisoner Anatoly Kobzar, whom the occupiers are holding in Pretrial Detention Center No. 2 in Simferopol, continues to deteriorate. In particular, he has been diagnosed with a ruptured eardrum and serious dental problems. In addition, for the past seven months, the detention center administration has refused to grant him permission to meet with his family.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion and spread its armed aggression throughout Ukraine, occupied Crimea has been used by Russia as a military base for spreading aggression in various forms. From the peninsula, the occupiers continue to launch attacks on the territory of Ukraine, including on civilian infrastructure.
▶ The Ukrainian Air Force reported that during the past week, the occupiers carried out another series of massive combined attacks on Ukrainian territory. In particular, they launched over 2,200 strike UAVs of the “Shahed,” “Gerbera,” and “Italmas” types, as well as “Parody” decoy drones, from various directions, including from the territory of occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. In addition, this week the occupiers launched 3M22 “Zircon” anti-ship missiles and “Iskander-M” ballistic missiles at Ukraine from the territory of Crimea.
▶ Starting September 1, 2026, the “Romanov College of Hospitality Industry” in Crimea will offer a major in “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operation”. According to the so-called “director”, the college has already received the necessary license, and there is “significant interest” in the program among prospective students. The training will take place as part of the “Professionalitet” program and is supposedly intended to help students “enter the labor market faster”. In reality, this is yet another step by the Russians toward the militarization of young people and their recruitment into the war.
▶ As part of the militarization efforts, an exhibition showcasing motor vehicles, unmanned systems, weapons, and ammunition was organized for college and university students on the peninsula. The event featured seven locations where students were shown body armor, tactical combat elements, first aid skills, and drone operation. Participants practiced these skills directly under the supervision of Russian military personnel. The event was held as part of the strategic project “UAV Operator Talent Pool”, initiated by the so-called “head of Crimea” Sergey Aksyonov.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ Activists from the “Atesh” group conducted reconnaissance of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s 758th Logistics Support Center in Simferopol. According to the activists, the occupiers use this center to supply fuel, spare parts, and technical equipment to ships and coastal units. During their surveillance, they documented the locations of warehouses, equipment storage areas, freight transport routes, and more.
▶ An occupation “court” fined a 29-year-old resident of Kerch for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian armed forces on social media. In March 2026, the woman allegedly posted photos and comments on her page that the occupiers classified as “discrediting” the Russian army.
The full-scale invasion was marked by a sharp increase in acts of solidarity and resistance by residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers. Residents of the occupied territories are uniting in resistance movements such as “Yellow Ribbon”, “Zla Mavka”, and “ATESH”, or acting individually.
To suppress the resistance of local residents in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after February 24, 2022, the occupiers began actively persecuting and bringing Ukrainian citizens to administrative liability under the article on the so-called “discrediting of the Russian Federation’s army.”
To suppress the resistance movement of local residents in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after February 24, 2022, the occupation administration actively began to persecute and bring Ukrainian citizens to administrative liability under the article on the so-called discreditation of the Russian army.
De-occupation of Crimea is an integral part of ending the war and restoring peace. Ukrainians are doing everything possible to stop the aggressor and protect the entire world from Russia’s criminal actions. Since this is not a local or regional problem, Russia’s aggression poses a threat to the entire world and the international order.