02 December 2025
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON DECEMBER 2, 2025
Main news of the week
▶ The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a strike on a storage site for Orion and Forpost UAVs at the Saky airfield near the town of Novofedorivka. According to the General Staff, several air defense assets were also hit at the airfield, including Pantsir-S1 and Tor-M2 systems. The enemy’s command and control post was likewise struck by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
▶ Over the past year, infant mortality in Crimea has increased by 9%, the National Resistance Center reported. One reason is a critical shortage of resuscitation equipment at the central pediatric medical facility in Simferopol.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of December 2025, Russia has unlawfully imprisoned 224 individuals in the occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ On 26 November, a court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Crimean journalist Vylen Temeryanov to 19 years of imprisonment. He will serve the first four years in a prison facility, and the remainder of the unlawful sentence in a strict-regime penal colony. Edem Bekirov and Rinat Aliiev were each sentenced by the Russian court to 15 years, journalist Vylen Temeryanov to 14 years, and Seytiyag Abbosov to 13 years. Following their unlawful detention, most of the defendants were placed in pre-trial detention facilities, while Seytiyag Abbosov — due to his health condition — was put under house arrest. The activists were convicted in the case of the so-called “First Dzhankoi Group.”
▶ On the morning of 25 November, officers of the occupation authorities broke into the home of Enver Seitmemetov in Bakhchysarai — the uncle of three political prisoners: Seytumer, Osman and Abdulmedzhit Seitumerov. During the search, Enver Seitmemetov was detained on fabricated charges of allegedly “equating the actions of the USSR and Nazi Germany.” According to available information, he is currently being held in the so-called “Centre for Countering Extremism” in Simferopol.
▶ The Russian authorities have transferred political prisoner and journalist Hennadii Osmak to Strict-Regime Colony No. 6 in Melekhovо, Vladimir Region, and have deprived him of access to essential diabetes medication. Earlier, the journalist had been accused of participating in the Crimean Tatar volunteer battalion named after Noman Çelebicihan. During his transfer to the colony, he was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture. A cassation hearing in his case has been scheduled for 11 December.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ At the “Yunist” children’s recreational camp on the western coast of Crimea, Russian instructors conducted a cadet training session during which children were taught five core areas of military training: the basics of firearms handling, tactical preparation, drill training, mine and engineering instruction, as well as first aid skills. Each stage of the training was presented as “developing discipline and team spirit,” effectively turning the children’s recreation time into yet another attempt at their militarization.
▶ At the “Artek” children’s center in occupied Crimea, a “Kherson Region Day” was held. Representatives of the occupation authorities, volunteers, activists from the temporarily occupied Kherson region, as well as Russian serviceman Denys Kozlov were brought to the event. He spoke to the children about his participation in the war and the activities of the “Pobeda” foundation, which he directs. After the meeting, children were involved in weaving camouflage nets and writing letters to Russian soldiers.
▶ According to the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Russian occupiers carried out a series of massive combined attacks across Ukraine during the week. In particular, during the night of 29 November, Russia launched 596 strike UAVs of the Shahed and Herbera types against Ukraine. The attack was carried out simultaneously from several regions of the Russian Federation, with part of the drones launched from Crimea.
Russian forces continue to strike energy infrastructure facilities, attempting to leave Ukraine’s civilian population without electricity and heating on the eve of winter cold.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ For showing solidarity with Ukraine, Russia has already persecuted 1,632 people in the occupied territory of Crimea, imposing illegal administrative penalties such as fines and arrests.
▶ To mark the anniversary of the All-Ukrainian referendum on Ukraine’s independence, activists of the “Yellow Ribbon” movement acted in the temporarily occupied territories. The activists also announced the launch of the 603.7 platform, created to enable safe communication among Ukrainians. The platform is fully anonymous and does not require registration.
▶ Activists of the “ATESH” movement continue covert monitoring of the port infrastructure in occupied Sevastopol. In particular, they conducted reconnaissance in the Komyshova Bay area, where Russian military personnel and affiliated structures have been observed. This location holds strategic significance, as it houses the “Southern Sevastopol” ship repair plant, the Navy’s training center for military rescuers and divers, and a number of other industrial facilities used by the occupying forces.
The full-scale invasion has been 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 unite in resistance movements such as the aforementioned “Yellow Ribbon,” “Crimean Combat Seagulls,” “Zla Mavka,” “ATESH,” or act individually. To suppress the local resistance movement on the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after 24 February 2022, the occupiers began actively persecuting and subjecting Ukrainian citizens to administrative liability under the article on so-called “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.”
The de-occupation of Crimea is an essential 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. This is not a local or regional issue — Russia’s aggression poses a threat to the whole world and the international order.