11 March 2025
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON MARCH 11, 2025
Main news of the week
▶ After prolonged and unlawful imprisonment, Crimean Tatar political prisoner Aziz Faizullaiev has been released. He was sentenced by the Russian occupation administration on fabricated charges.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of March 2025, Russia has illegally imprisoned 220 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ The oldest Ukrainian political prisoner from Crimea, 75-year-old Volodymyr Ananiev, who was detained by Russian occupiers on fabricated charges, has been transferred—effectively deported—to Russia.
▶ Visually impaired Crimean political prisoner Oleksandr Sizikov, unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 17 years in prison, has been transferred from a prison in Minusinsk, Russia, to Krasnoyarsk Tuberculosis Hospital No. 1 for examination. The medical facility is denying him the necessary care.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ Agents of the ATESH movement report that Russian occupiers are conducting filtration raids in Crimea under the guise of “exercises.” Russian military personnel are extensively checking civilians in Crimea by stopping vehicles, searching individuals, and inspecting their phones. While officially framed as “anti-sabotage drills,” these actions are, in reality, repressive measures against the local population.
▶ Monitoring channels report that the occupiers are reinforcing the defense of the Zalyv shipyard bay in Kerch. Russian forces are actively fortifying access points to the shipyard, constructing defensive structures and long-term firing positions. Earlier reports indicated that barriers were installed in the shipyard’s waters to protect against Ukrainian naval drones. The occupiers are using the facility to build warships for the Russian fleet in its war against Ukraine.
▶ Russian military forces in occupied Crimea are using civilian sanatoriums to station their personnel. In particular, around 300 enlisted soldiers and sergeants, along with up to 30 officers and warrant officers, have occupied the buildings of the Chaika sanatorium in the village of Zaozerne. Defensive positions, observation posts, patrol routes, and guard shift schedules have also been established. The sanatorium is located near civilian infrastructure, including a school, residential buildings, and recreational areas. By doing so, Russian occupiers are deliberately using civilians as “human shields” by positioning themselves within civilian sites.
▶ According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian occupiers carried out a series of attacks across Ukraine over the past week. This included 733 strikes using Shahed-type drones and unidentified UAVs, as well as two ballistic missile launches with Iskander-M/KN-23 missiles, some of which were launched from occupied Crimea and the Black Sea region. Russian missile and drone strikes have hit residential buildings in various regions of Ukraine, causing significant destruction and casualties.
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 resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ Russia has already prosecuted 1242 people in occupied Crimea for expressing solidarity with Ukraine, who are being subjected to administrative penalties in the form of illegal fines and arrests.
▶ A resident of Simferopol spoke out against the Russian occupation of Crimea on social media, expressed support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and posted pro-Ukrainian content. The occupation security forces detained the woman, and her case has been forwarded to the so-called “court.”
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement carried out a resistance action to mark the birthday of Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko—pro-Ukrainian leaflets appeared on the Shevchenko monument in Yevpatoriia, as well as on the streets of Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Yalta.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement continue to monitor the activities of Russian occupiers in Crimea. A representative of the Russian occupation administration in Sevastopol recently awarded collaborators with medals for the occupation of Crimea.
▶ The resistance movement Zla Mavka continues to document the realities of life under occupation. To mark Taras Shevchenko’s birthday, activists distributed leaflets featuring lines from his poetry on the streets of Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Kerch.
▶ Activists of the resistance movement ATESH successfully carried out a sabotage operation in occupied Crimea, disrupting Russian military logistics. The sabotage took place near the village of Stovbove in the Dzhankoi district. As a result of the operation, the occupiers encountered difficulties in supplying fuel to their forces on the southern front.
The full-scale invasion was marked by a rapid increase in solidarity and resistance actions by residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers. Residents of occupied territories unite in resistance movements, such as the above-mentioned Yellow Ribbon, 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”.
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. This is not a local or regional issue but a threat to the world and international order.