05 August 2024
Situation in Occupied Crimea in July 2024
Main news of the month
▶ On the evening of July 1, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine neutralized an enemy ammunition depot near Cape Fiolent in occupied Crimea. As a result, a depot of Russo-Iranian Shahed-136 drones was destroyed. The estimated number of destroyed drones used by the occupiers to strike at civilian objects and infrastructure of Ukraine is 90 vehicles.
▶ The Sejm of the Republic of Poland adopted the Resolution On Commemorating the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People, which states that the deportation of Crimean Tatars from Crimea in 1944 when about 46% of the Crimean Tatar people died. The deportation resulted in a genocide against the Crimean Tatar people.
▶ On July 21, in the city of Yevpatoriia, the occupation city administration began dismantling the Holy Cross Exaltation Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is a violation of international law, in particular, violation of human rights and the right to freedom of religion enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
▶ On the night of July 26, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the territory of the Russian military airfield in Novofedorivka, Saky region. The hit caused the detonation of enemy ammunition and a fire. There were up to 16 enemy aircraft at the airport. In addition, the location of the Russian air defense system was hit. As a result, a radar station was destroyed.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation in occupied Crimea
▶ As of July, Russians illegally imprisoned 217 Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 132 Crimean Tatars.
▶ The occupation “court” refused to release Crimean Muslim Amet Suleimanov from Bakhchysarai, who was sentenced to 12 years in prison. The occupiers illegally accused Suleimanov in the so-called “Crimean Muslims” case, which is politically and religiously motivated. The “court” upheld the sentence, even though Amet has two diseases included in the list that are incompatible with the conditions of imprisonment. Suleimanov has osteoarthritis and hypertensive angiopathy of the retina and urgently needs a heart valve replacement.
▶ During July, the Russian occupiers illegally transferred at least five convicted unlawfully Crimean political prisoners, activists, and citizen journalists to Russian prisons in remote regions of Russia with harsher conditions of detention thousands of kilometers away from their native Crimea, in particular, Remzi Bekirov, Aider Dzhapparov, Eskender Abdulhaniiev, Enver Omerov, and Vladlen Abdulkadyrov. Thus, in addition to illegal arrests, the occupiers are quietly deporting Ukrainian citizens from the Crimean Peninsula.
▶ The occupiers opened a criminal case against Tetiana Bibik, a resident of Yalta, who published posts on social media criticizing the occupation administration and opposing Russia’s war with Ukraine. Previously, the woman was forced to apologize on camera and faces up to 5 years in prison.
▶ The occupiers illegally sentenced three Crimean Tatars—brothers Artur, Arsen, and Abliamed Memetshaiev—from the village of Chonhar, Henichesk district, Kherson region, to 5 to 6.5 years in Russian prisons. They were accused of alleged connection to the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion. The Russians use the pretext of connections with the volunteer battalion to persecute Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories who have ever been involved in military affairs.
▶ The occupiers illegally transferred Crimean political prisoner Seiran Saliiev to harsher conditions of detention in a colony in the Tula region of the Russian Federation. Since the beginning of the year, the man has been unreasonably sent to the punishment cell several times for allegedly “violating the dress code.”
▶ The occupation “court” has extended the illegal arrest of Crimean Tatar activists Memet Liumanov, Rustem Osmanov, Aziz Azizov, and Mustafa Abduramanov until November 4, 2024. The activists were detained after illegal searches on March 5 for covering the crimes of the occupiers. The term of imprisonment was also extended for Crimean Tatar Leniie Umerova, who was detained by Russian security forces without any justification in 2022 when she was on her way to visit her seriously ill father in occupied Crimea.
▶ The occupiers illegally used the music of the famous American composer Philip Glass in the “Opera and Ballet Theater” of occupied Sevastopol. The occupiers are once again violating the copyrights of foreign composers by using their copyrighted works for their purposes without appropriate permission.
Using the territory of occupied Crimea as a military base and a springboard for attacks on Ukraine
▶ According to satellite imagery, the hull of the new Russian Project 23900 Ivan Rogov universal landing ship is constructed at the Zalyv Shipyard in Kerch.
▶ The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reports that the occupiers in Crimea have partially restored the Feodosia-13 facility, a Soviet nuclear weapons depot. However, the facility is now a storage facility for conventional ammunition of the Russian army.
▶ According to the Ukrainian Air Force, in July, Russian invaders attacked Ukrainian cities with 7 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 5 X-59/X-69 guided missiles, and 194 Shahed-131/136 attack UAVs, including from the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion and spread its military aggression throughout Ukraine, occupied Crimea has been used by Russia as an army base for attack in various forms. From the peninsula, the occupiers continue to strike at the territory of Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure.
Deterioration of the environmental situation in Crimea as a result of the actions of the Russian troops
▶ Due to Russian troops undermining the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in June 2023, Crimea may become a semi-desert, forcing about half a million people to leave the area. Vegetation cover in the previously irrigated areas of southern Kherson and Crimea has decreased by 85%. Most agriculture and even human habitation may become impossible.
▶The problem of water shortage is sharply escalating in occupied Crimea. According to activists, the highest waterfall in Crimea, Uchan-Su, has dried up, and the Alma River and Chorna River, which provide water for about 700,000 residents of occupied Simferopol and Sevastopol, are almost dry. The problems of fresh water supply in Crimea are also the result of an artificial disaster caused by the Russian occupiers at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Many smaller rivers are also on the verge of drying up, causing the water level in the reservoirs to drop sharply. The occupiers, in turn, ignore this problem and claim that there are no problems with the water supply in Crimea.
The colonial policy regarding Crimea manifests, among other things, in the exploitation and depletion of natural resources. Analyzing the few studies on this topic, we can state that the critical factor is the increase in Russian militarization of the peninsula.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ In July, Russia unlawfully prosecuted at least 66 residents of occupied Crimea for expressing solidarity with Ukraine. As of the end of July, at least 913 people have been persecuted. People receive administrative penalties in the form of illegal fines and arrests.
▶ A retired man from occupied Alushta spoke out against the Russian occupation of Crimea in a local store and emphasized that he was waiting for the peninsula to be de-occupied. The man has been illegally detained by Russian security forces and arrested for 15 days in prison.
▶ A 30-year-old resident of Sevastopol spoke negatively on social media about the Russian occupiers and Russians who illegally arrived in occupied Crimea. The occupation “court” sentenced the man to 1.5 years in prison with the deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of websites and channels on the Internet.
▶ A 42-year-old man, who is a construction worker, allegedly passed information to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine about the location of occupation troops in Crimea and Sevastopol. A criminal case was opened against the man, who faces up to 20 years in prison.
▶ A resident of the Yevpatoriia region spoke negatively about the Russian military and expressed his desire to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The occupiers detained the man, forced him to apologize on camera, and an illegal “court” imposed a fine of 50 thousand rubles on him for allegedly “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.”
▶ A 31-year-old man used the Ukrainian patriotic slogan “Glory to Ukraine, glory to heroes” in a private conversation on a Crimean beach. The occupation “court” illegally arrested the man for 12 days.
▶ Two brothers from the village of Morske, the Feodosiia region of occupied Crimea, reported on social media that they were waiting for the liberation of Crimea from the Russian occupiers and had flags of Ukraine at home. The occupiers illegally detained the men for 15 days and sent them to a temporary detention center.
▶ A resident of occupied Sevastopol was listening to the Ukrainian song “Chervona Kalyna” at home with the windows open. Russian security forces detained the man for allegedly “propagandizing and publicly demonstrating Nazi paraphernalia,” as the occupiers call everything Ukrainian. The man also faces administrative arrest for up to 15 days.
▶ A resident of the Simferopol region used a cover for documents with the coat of arms of Ukraine. Russian security forces detained the man, forced him to apologize on camera, and burned the cover with Ukrainian symbols.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to resist the occupiers in Crimea, destroying copies of propaganda materials and distributing patriotic symbols in the occupied cities on the peninsula as a reminder that Crimea is Ukraine and the residents of the occupied peninsula are waiting for de-occupation. On the Day of Ukrainian Statehood on July 15, activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement left messages in support of Ukraine in Yalta, Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Alushta. The activists also held a new campaign in Alushta to distribute yellow and blue heart-shaped stickers on the city streets.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to publish its diaries, distribute symbols, and publish a weekly newspaper that reveals the occupiers’ crimes. The activists disseminated patriotic stickers in the center of Yalta. In addition, activists distributed banknotes in occupied Kerch with the message that Russian occupiers have no place in Ukrainian Crimea.
A sharp increase in solidarity and resistance actions of the residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers marked the full-scale invasion. Residents of the occupied territories unite in resistance movements, such as the mentioned Yellow Ribbon movement, Crimean Combat Seagulls, Zla Mavka, and ATESH, or act individually. To suppress the resistance movement of residents in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after February 24, 2022, the occupiers actively began to prosecute and bring to administrative responsibility Ukrainian citizens under the article on the so-called “discrediting the Russian army.”
The de-occupation of Crimea is integral to ending the war and restoring peace. Ukrainians are doing everything they can to stop the aggressor and protect the entire world from Russia’s criminal actions. The war in Ukraine is not a local or regional issue but a threat to the whole world and international order.
We urge the international community not to ignore Russian crimes against Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea and to spread information about human rights violations in the occupation.