21 January 2025
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON JANUARY 21, 2025
Main news of the week
▶ By a decision of the so-called “court,” the occupiers have shut down an Islamic school in the Simferopol district of occupied Crimea. This action by the occupation administration continues a policy of persecution based on religious and ethnic grounds. The closure of the Islamic school in the Simferopol district, along with repressive measures against independent religious communities, is further evidence of the occupation administration’s attempt to eradicate the religious and national identity of the Crimean Tatars by restricting freedom of religion and human rights in the temporarily occupied territory.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of January 2025, Russia has illegally imprisoned 218 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 132 Crimean Tatars.
▶ Oleh Fedorov, a Crimean political prisoner unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 13 years, has been arbitrarily placed in solitary confinement for the fourth time in a Russian penal colony.
▶ A Russian “court” has illegally extended the detention of six defendants in the “Crimean Muslims case” from Dzhankoi district—Osman Abdurazakov, Khalil Mambetov, Ekrem Krosh, Leman Zekeriaiev, Refat Seidametov, and Aider Asanov—until May 3. On January 24, at 4 a.m., illegal searches were conducted in villages of Dzhankoi district by occupying security forces and FSB investigators. During the raids, six Crimean Tatars were detained and taken to Simferopol, where they were arrested and charged under the so-called “Crimean Muslims case.” In August of this year, fabricated criminal case materials were submitted to the occupiers’ “Southern District Military Court.”
▶ Crimean Tatar Erfan Osmanov, unlawfully convicted by Russia on fabricated charges, has been illegally transferred to Russian Penal Colony No. 1 in the city of Kyzyl, Republic of Tuva, over 5,000 kilometers from occupied Crimea.
▶ The occupying “court” unlawfully sentenced members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization, Viktor Kudinov and Serhii Zhyhalov, to six years in prison on fabricated charges of allegedly “organizing extremist activities.” Russian occupiers continue their systematic persecution of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories based on religious grounds.
▶ Ruslan Mesutov, a 59-year-old religious leader unlawfully sentenced to 18 years in prison, has been illegally transferred to a Russian penal colony in Yakutia, over 8,000 kilometers from Crimea. The political prisoner suffers from numerous health issues, making such transfers life-threatening, especially in the remote region’s harsh conditions, which may further deteriorate his condition. Upon arrival, he was unjustly placed in solitary confinement, had his personal belongings confiscated, including the Quran and glasses, and was previously robbed in another Russian prison. The penal colony administration warned that he would remain in solitary confinement for an extended period, without access to a store or the right to family visits.
▶ Andrii Kolomiiets, a Euromaidan activist unlawfully convicted by Russia in occupied Crimea, has been released from a Russian penal colony after 10 years of baseless imprisonment. However, he is currently held in a deportation center in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. It remains unclear how long the political prisoner will remain in the deportation center. According to Kolomiiets, two men from the occupied part of the Kherson region are also held in the center—one for 1.5 years, the other for 2.5 years.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ Activists of the ATESH movement have detected the reinforcement of maritime barriers by the occupiers in Balaklava Bay to counter unmanned vessels. In the village of Novofedorivka, they identified a repair base for armored vehicles and defensive positions equipped with electronic warfare (EW) systems to counter UAVs. Additionally, Yevpatoriia agents documented military equipment placement at the freight railway station. Furthermore, on Cape Tarkhankut near Olenivka in the Yevpatoriia district, they recorded the location of the 91st riverboat brigade, along with a camouflaged headquarters amid civilian infrastructure, housing military equipment, personnel, and civilian transport used for movements.
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 1,139 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 the village of Bilohlynka was detained by Russian security forces for allegedly “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” after making negative comments about Russian occupiers and the Russian president on social media. Subsequently, the so-called “court” imposed a fine of 50,000 rubles on the man.
▶ Activists from the Yellow Ribbon movement carried out new resistance actions in Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Feodosiia. In Feodosiia’s Jubilee Park, activists created several pieces of graffiti, while in Simferopol’s Botanical Garden, they distributed pro-Ukrainian stickers around the sundial. Numerous symbols of resistance also appeared on the streets and in the parks of Sevastopol. Over recent days, activists have distributed around 300 stickers reminding people of Crimea’s belonging to Ukraine. They adorned cities across Crimea with yellow ribbons, an enduring symbol of resistance to Russian occupation.
▶ Activists from the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement continue to expose the personal data of Russian war criminals and collaborators, as well as gather intelligence on the locations of Russian military facilities in occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to document the realities of life in the occupied territories through their diaries. Additionally, the activists decorated the Kerch embankment with patriotic stickers to remind everyone that Crimea is Ukraine.
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.