18 March 2025
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON MARCH 18, 2025
Main news of the week
▶ Crimean Tatar political prisoner Rustem Virati has died in illegal Russian detention. Russian occupation forces unlawfully detained him in occupied Henichesk in the spring of 2023. According to available information, after his arrest by the Russian administration, Rustem Virati was subjected to numerous acts of torture and severe beatings. All so-called “court” proceedings conducted by the occupiers took place behind closed doors. He became yet another victim of the political repression systematically carried out by the Russian Federation in temporarily occupied Crimea. His wife and three adult children survive Rustem Virati.
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.
▶ Asan Akhtemov has been unlawfully transferred to Arkhangelsk region, Russia, three thousand kilometers from Crimea. His health condition continues to deteriorate—he suffers from joint pain, which worsens as temperatures drop.
▶ Illegally sentenced to 13 years in prison, 64-year-old Crimean Tatar activist Servet Gaziiev has been transported to a Russian penal colony in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskyi, more than 12,000 kilometers from Crimea. The transfer took over two months, during which he had no contact with his family.
▶ Illegally convicted by Russia, 65-year-old Crimean resident Nasrulla Seidaliiev is in critical condition in a Russian penal colony in Minusinsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai. Due to worsening chronic illnesses, he spent 21 days in a hospital but was later returned to the colony without proper medical care. He is rarely allowed outside, further aggravating his condition. The lack of adequate healthcare has led to severe complications, including high blood pressure, advanced varicose disease, and significant leg swelling.
▶ Crimean Tatar human rights defender Riza Izetov, unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 19 years in prison, has reported inhumane detention conditions in a Russian prison. According to the political prisoner, he is regularly subjected to disciplinary punishments on fabricated charges and placed in solitary confinement. Additionally, Izetov has been denied phone calls, including communication with his family.
▶ Kherson activist Iryna Horobtsova, who was forcibly taken to Crimea by Russia and illegally sentenced to 10 years on trumped-up charges, has been removed from the detention center in occupied Simferopol. Her relatives report that she was unlawfully transferred—effectively deported—to Krasnodar, Russia, and is expected to be moved through Rostov-on-Don to Moscow.
▶ Journalist from Nova Kakhovka, Serhii Tsyhipa, who was illegally sentenced by a Russian occupation “court” in Crimea on false charges, has been transferred from a penal colony in Skopin, Ryazan region, Russia, to Moscow.
▶ A Russian appellate “court” has upheld the 15-year sentence against Crimean resident Vladyslav Afanasiev, who continues to be held in pre-trial detention, awaiting imminent transfer to Russia. Moreover, he is being denied essential medical care. Even basic medications must be delivered through volunteers, a process complicated by high costs and restrictions.
▶ Illegally sentenced Crimean citizen Marlen Mustafaiev is being unlawfully transferred to Krasnoyarsk, Russia, 5,000 kilometers from Crimea. The forced relocation of political prisoners is a continuation of the Russian occupiers’ repressive policies against Ukrainian citizens.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ Agents of the ATESH movement have identified a Russian warship docked in Inkerman at a pier typically used for decommissioned vessels. The ship in question is a small anti-submarine vessel of Project 1124M Albatros, which the occupiers are attempting to conceal due to potential strikes by Ukraine’s Armed Forces on the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
▶ According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian occupiers launched a series of attacks across Ukraine over the past week. These included 401 Shahed-type attack UAVs and unidentified drones, as well as three Iskander-M ballistic missiles, some of which were launched from occupied Crimea and the Black Sea. Russian missiles also struck a residential area in Kryvyi Rih, causing civilian 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 Yalta was unlawfully detained by Russian security forces for posting anonymous comments on social media criticizing the Russian occupiers. She has been accused of alleged “calls for extremism” and now faces up to five years in prison.
▶ A Crimean Tatar woman was prosecuted by the occupation “court” for sharing a news post about Hamburg residents supporting Ukrainians. The video she reposted featured a banner with the phrase “Glory to Ukraine.” She was falsely found guilty of “displaying prohibited symbols.”
▶ A resident of Alushta expressed support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on social media, wished for Russia’s defeat in the war, and criticized the occupation of Crimea. Russian security forces detained her, filed administrative charges, and transferred the case to the occupation “court.”
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement raised another Ukrainian flag on the summit of Mount Basman in occupied Crimea. They also distributed dozens of patriotic leaflets across the streets of Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Yevpatoriia, Feodosiia, Kerch, and Bakhchysarai, reminding residents that “the occupation is temporary” and that “Crimea is Ukraine.” Additionally, the movement reported that Russian occupiers are forcing students and faculty at a medical institution in Crimea to donate blood for Russian soldiers.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to monitor the activities of Russian occupiers in Crimea. They report that the occupation administration is persistently manipulating statistics to reduce the official number of people with disabilities, concealing them as “undesirable” individuals.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to document life under occupation, sharing insights into the realities faced by Crimean residents.
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.