18 January 2025
Update on the Situation in the Temporarily Occupied Territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol as of 2024
Main news of the year:
▶ Thanks to domestically developed naval drones and long-range missiles provided by partners, in 2024, Ukraine’s Armed Forces sunk or damaged at least eight Russian military vessels near the Crimean coast and in the Black Sea. As a result, the Russian Black Sea Fleet was forced to retreat from ports in occupied Crimea. As of January 2025, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has destroyed approximately 31 Russian vessels and damaged over 22, out of the fleet’s total of about 80 ships.
▶ Throughout the year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces actively targeted the Belbek airfield near occupied Sevastopol. During a January attack on Belbek, at least three aircraft, personnel of the occupation administrations, and a bunker of the radar command and coordination post were destroyed. In May, the airfield saw the destruction of a 92N6E radar system, part of the S-400 air defense complex, and at least one launcher was damaged. Additionally, two Russian aircraft—a MiG-31 and a Su-27—were destroyed, and a MiG-29 was damaged. In June, two S-400 air defense missile launchers, a radar station, and the Nebo-M radar system were eliminated at the same airfield.
▶ In June, the Ukrainian Armed Forces targeted a division of the S-400 Triumf air defense missile system near occupied Dzhankoi.
▶ On June 28, Ukraine successfully secured the release of Crimean Tatar political prisoner Nariman Dzhelyal from Russian captivity. Dzhelyal, the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, was illegally detained and sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2021 following his participation in the Inaugural Summit of the Crimea Platform. At the time, he was the only delegate from occupied Crimea to attend the Summit. After returning to Crimea, Dzhelyal was unjustly arrested by Russian security forces.
▶ On the evening of July 1, Ukraine’s Air Force neutralized an enemy ammunition depot near Cape Fiolent. The attack destroyed a stockpile of Russian-Iranian Shahed-136 drones. Approximately 90 drones, frequently used by the occupiers to strike civilian infrastructure and targets in Ukraine, were eliminated.
▶ During the night of July 26, Ukrainian forces struck the Russian military airfield in Novofedorivka, Yevpatoriia District. The attack triggered an explosion of enemy ammunition and caused a fire. At the time, the airfield hosted up to 16 enemy aircraft. Additionally, the location of the occupying forces’ air defense systems was also hit.
▶ In August, Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the military airfield Oktyabrske in the Kurman District, causing a fire and the detonation of a Russian ammunition depot.
▶ On August 6, special forces from the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine landed on the Tendrivska Spit near Crimea. The operation resulted in the destruction of an enemy MT-LB armored vehicle, an electronic warfare system, and Russian fortifications.
▶ On September 13, a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine led to the release of 26-year-old Crimean Tatar woman Leniie Umerova. She had been unlawfully imprisoned by Russia in December 2022 while traveling to occupied Crimea to visit her father, who was ill with cancer.
▶ On December 15, due to negligence by Russian occupiers, two Russian tankers, Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239, carrying oil products, including fuel oil, collided and sank near the Kerch Strait and the Crimean coast. Thousands of tons of fuel oil spilled into the sea, triggering an environmental disaster. The spill heavily polluted the Black Sea waters and the coastline of the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula, stretching from Taman Island and Kerch to Sevastopol and further to Popivka in Yevpatoriia District. In total, approximately 500 kilometers of coastline were affected.
▶ On December 31, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate made history by using a Magura V5 naval drone to destroy an aerial target. During a battle in the Black Sea near Cape Tarkhankut, two Russian Mi-8 helicopters were destroyed using R-73 SeeDragon missiles launched from the drone.
Invaders’ crimes:
▶ As of January 1, 2025 the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 218 individuals, including 132 Crimean Tatars. Of these, 43 are under arrest (28 Crimean Tatars), 151 are imprisoned (97 Crimean Tatars), and 26 are held without status (6 Crimean Tatars).
▶ Since the beginning of 2024, at least 12 political prisoners have been unlawfully transferred—or effectively deported—from Crimea to prisons within the territory of the Russian Federation.
▶ At least 20 political prisoners have been illegally relocated from Russian prisons to penal colonies in remote regions of Russia. These locations are typically thousands of kilometers away from Crimea and are home to some of Russia’s harshest colonies, known for their severe detention conditions.
▶ Urgent medical assistance is required for at least 60 Crimean political prisoners, including Iryna Danylovych, Tofik Abdulhaziiev, Server Zekiriaiev, Ruslan Nahaiev, Enver Ametov, Rustem Osmanov, Yashar Muiedinov, Rustem Huhuryk, Vadym Bektemirov, and Teimur and Uzeir Abdullaiev.
▶ Throughout the 10 years of occupation, the Russian Federation’s occupation administration has relentlessly exerted administrative, judicial, psychological, and physical pressure on the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) to halt its activities and push it out of the occupied peninsula. On April 8, the occupiers dismantled the dome of the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olha in Simferopol, the central shrine of the OCU in Crimea. On August 29, the occupiers destroyed the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Yevpatoriia, the last Orthodox church of the Ukrainian Church in Crimea.
▶ Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea face persecution, including for their religious beliefs. On February 22, 2024, the so-called “Supreme Court of Crimea” upheld a decision by an occupation court to fine the independent Muslim community Alushta 100,000 rubles for allegedly “storing books from the federal list of extremist materials in the city mosque and the home of the organization’s head.” In Staryi Krym, on February 29, 2024, the occupiers conducted searches at the Zubeyr Jami mosque and the homes of the local Muslim community’s imam, Izet Saifullin, and its head, Ismail Yurdamov, as well as activists Lenur Yakubov and Shevket Kyiamov. A new wave of mass searches occurred on March 5, 2024. In Bakhchysarai, investigative actions targeted activists of “Crimean Solidarity,” while in Dzhankoi District, they focused on religious leaders. As a result, nine individuals (Nariman Ametov, Arsen Kashka, Ali Mamutov, Vait Mustafaiev, Enver Khalilaiev, Mustafa Abduramanov, Aziz Azizov, Memet Liumanov, and Rustem Osmanov) were subjected to pretrial detention for 60 days. Due to health reasons, Remzi Kurtnezirov was placed under house arrest. Since then, the occupation “court” has extended the illegal detention of all arrested individuals every three months by an additional 90 days.
▶ Despite repeated calls from the international community and global institutions, the Russian Federation continues to organize so-called “elections” in occupied territories, attempting to integrate them into Russian governance and “legitimize” its crimes and the consequences of its reckless aggressive policies. In 2024, the occupiers conducted illegal elections in occupied Crimea twice: the so-called “election” of the president of the Russian Federation and the so-called “elections” to local government bodies of various levels within Russia.
Forcible conscription:
▶ Between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, at least 1,038 Russian soldiers from units stationed in occupied Crimea were confirmed killed. Of these, 654 were likely Ukrainian citizens. The actual number of casualties could be higher, as Russia conceals the true extent of its losses. Since February 24, 2022, the total confirmed number of fatalities has reached 1,657, including 1,107 Ukrainian citizens.
▶ During the same period, at least 64 Russian servicemen from occupied Crimea were confirmed captured, bringing the total to 101. The majority of them are also likely to be Ukrainian citizens.
Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula:
▶ Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, occupied Crimea has been used as a platform to expand Russian aggression in various forms. From the peninsula, the occupiers continue to strike residential buildings and civilian infrastructure on mainland Ukraine.
▶ Civilian infrastructure in Crimea continues to be repurposed for military objectives by the occupiers. Specifically, the illegal Kerch Bridge, the Tavrida Highway, and the Crimean Railway are used to transfer troops from the Russian Federation to temporarily occupied Crimea and further to newly occupied territories in Ukraine.
▶ Russian occupiers endanger local residents of occupied Crimea by positioning ammunition depots near residential areas or civilian infrastructure.
Civil Resistance:
▶ As of January 2025, 1,139 cases under Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Administrative Code have been filed with the so-called “courts” in temporarily occupied Crimea. Of these, rulings imposing administrative fines or combined decisions with other cases were issued in 1,022 cases. In 20 cases, proceedings are still ongoing.
▶ In occupied Simferopol, a resident protested against the illegal “elections” by pouring green dye into a ballot box. The occupiers initiated a criminal case against the woman.
▶ Three women from Simferopol posted the Ukrainian song “Chervona Kalyna” on their social media. The occupiers detained the women, accusing them of “discrediting the Russian army.”
▶ In temporarily occupied Simferopol, a local man posted a video supporting Ukraine and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The occupiers detained him, forced him into the uniform of the Russian occupation administration, and made him apologize on camera. A protocol was filed against him for “discrediting the Russian army.”
▶ In Chornomorsk, the occupiers detained a 13-year-old boy for allegedly photographing and providing activists of ATESH with information about the location of Russian occupiers and enemy air defense systems. The teenager was forced to apologize on camera and underwent a “preventive” conversation.
▶ A resident of Tarkhankut village in Crimea posted materials on her social media supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine and condemning Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The occupation “court” sentenced the 64-year-old pensioner to five days of administrative arrest and fined her 35,000 rubles.
▶ In the village of Popivka, Yevpatoriia district, vacationers were arrested for listening to Ukrainian songs, including those by the Okean Elzy band. They were detained for 10 days and forced to record an apology video.
▶ A resident of Simferopol, the deputy chief physician of a clinical hospital, spoke out against the occupiers and expressed support for Crimea’s liberation. The occupiers detained the man, sentenced him to 15 days of arrest, and fined him 50,000 rubles.
▶ In occupied Yalta, a woman who had traveled from abroad for her mother’s funeral was detained at the cemetery. The occupiers accused her of “state treason” for purchasing two NFT stamps titled “Russian Warship” two years ago.
▶ A 10-year-old schoolgirl from the city of Saky posted a video on social media allegedly “discrediting” the occupation army and defaming the Russian tricolor. The occupiers filed an administrative protocol against her mother under the article “failure to fulfill parental duties for the upbringing and care of minors” and referred the case to the local juvenile commission.
▶ A Simferopol resident posted a video on social media criticizing Russia’s pension reform and included a comment questioning, “Why do we need Crimea and Donbas at such an exorbitant cost?” The occupiers detained the pensioner, and the occupation “court” fined her 40,000 rubles for allegedly “discrediting” the occupying army.
▶ A resident of Simferopol faced persecution by the occupiers due to an old photo of her with a Ukrainian flag on Independence Square in Kyiv. The occupiers detained the woman, conducted a search, and the occupation “court” ruled that her actions constituted “discreditation.”
▶ A resident of Azovske village in the Dzhankoi district stated during a conversation in a “chat roulette” that he awaited the de-occupation of Crimea by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and remarked that he “dislikes Russians due to historical memory.” The occupiers detained the man, forced him to record an apology video, and sent the case to the occupation “court.”
▶ Activists from the Yellow Ribbon, Crimean Сombat Seagulls, and Zla Mavka resistance movements carried out hundreds of resistance actions throughout the year in occupied Crimea. They placed patriotic leaflets, posters, and symbols reminding everyone that Crimea is Ukraine and that occupiers are unwelcome on the peninsula.
▶ In particular, activists from the Yellow Ribbon movement conducted extensive anti-propaganda efforts, exposing the crimes of the occupiers in Crimea, documenting, and reporting on the illegal transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories through Crimea to Russia. They also reported incidents of the militarization of children on the peninsula and their forced involvement in “volunteering” to support the occupiers. These activists contributed to the creation of the project “You Are in Ukraine,” which provides information on safety and resistance for Ukrainian citizens in occupied territories.
▶ Activists from the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement actively uncovered personal data on collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea throughout the year. They revealed the identities of administrators of the propaganda channel run by collaborator Talipov, known for persecuting Crimean residents with a pro-Ukrainian stance. In addition, the activists exposed organizers of illegal Russian elections held in occupied Crimea. They also identified and published information on collaborators who helped occupiers “appropriate” the Yalta Summer Jam festival after the beginning of the occupation—a festival that had been established in the early 2000s and thrived thanks to Ukrainian performers.
▶ Activists from the Zla Mavka movement actively countered enemy propaganda during the pseudo-elections held by Russian occupiers, destroying propaganda materials. They also distributed a weekly publication exposing the crimes of the occupiers and maintained journals documenting the realities of life under Russian occupation.▶ Meanwhile, activists from the ATESH resistance movement systematically tracked the movement of Russian military equipment in occupied Crimea and provided this data to the relevant units of Ukraine’s Armed Forces. These activists infiltrated the ranks of the enemy’s army and conducted sabotage operations from within to weaken the occupiers. Additionally, in cooperation with Ukraine’s Armed Forces, they contributed to the successful strikes on Russian military facilities, such as the Belbek airfield.