22 July 2025
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON JULY 22, 2025
Main news of the week
▶ Crimean Tatar political prisoner Ametkhan Abdulvapov suffered a stroke while held in Russian penal colony No. 2 in the city of Angarsk, Irkutsk region. He did not receive adequate medical assistance. The deterioration of his health was significantly exacerbated by the conditions of his unlawful detention and his illegal transfer to a Russian facility. The political prisoner also reported a lack of essential medication — he is forced to endure severe chest pain, as the prison medical service does not have the necessary drugs.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of July 2025, Russia has illegally imprisoned 220 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ Russian occupying forces unlawfully detained Crimean Tatar woman and pharmacy worker Niiara Ersmambetova. The occupation administration accuses her of so-called “high treason” for allegedly sharing information with the Ukrainian side. Since late May, she has been held in Pre-Trial Detention Centre No. 1 in Simferopol. Her case may contain signs of unlawful deprivation of liberty, which, under international humanitarian law, qualifies as a war crime.
▶ Unlawfully imprisoned Crimean journalist Iryna Danylovych has reported the use of inhumane methods in a Russian penal facility, comparing them to those of the Nazi Gestapo — including continuous exposure to extremely bright electric lighting causing eye and head pain, as well as acoustic abuse in the form of constant loudspeaker noise from early morning hours. She had also previously described being forced to stand for hours in formation regardless of weather conditions and enduring harsh sanitary and living conditions.
▶ Oil sludge from the December 2024 collision of Russian tankers Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 in the Kerch Strait reached the shores of Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park in the Odesa region, having travelled more than 650 km along the Black Sea coast. According to environmental experts, the pollution was nearly continuous between the 13th and 19th kilometers of the shoreline and consisted of heavy, degraded fuel oil fractions. Some clumps contained algae, sand, and medical masks similar to those used in cleanup efforts near Anapa.
▶ The wife of Crimean political prisoner Hennadii Lymeshko has reported that she has had no information about his whereabouts for several months following his unlawful transfer from the so-called “Centre for the Temporary Detention of Foreign Nationals” in the Rostov region, where he had been held after completing his illegal eight-year prison sentence in February 2025. According to her, he has not made contact, and appeals to the relevant authorities have produced no results — there has been no response from either official bodies or human rights organisations. Moreover, Hennadii Lymeshko’s name appeared on the updated list of so-called “terrorists and extremists” on the website of the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation after his sentence had already expired, which may indicate further acts of repression and human rights violations by the Russian regime.
▶ Crimean Tatar political prisoner Remzi Bekirov is being held continuously in the punishment cell of Penal Colony No. 33 in Abakan, Republic of Khakassia, for performing the five daily prayers. The colony administration has repeatedly placed him in a cell, extending his punishment for the same act — the observance of religious rituals. In his letters, Bekirov has described enduring harsh conditions for an extended period, while the pressure from the administration remains unrelenting. His family attempted to challenge the conditions of his detention but received a rejection, and their complaints submitted to the Russian Prosecutor’s Office and the Russian Ombudsman went unanswered. In addition to political persecution, the Russian occupying administration is violating political prisoners’ right to freedom of religion.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ Activists from the ATESH resistance movement reported the deployment of a field hospital at the location of the 810th Marine Brigade in temporarily occupied Sevastopol. According to their information, part of the equipment and personnel are undergoing recovery, and due to a shortage of suitable facilities for providing medical care to the wounded, a hospital has been set up directly on the premises.
▶ According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, over the past week, Russian occupying forces launched a series of large-scale combined attacks across Ukrainian territory. These included 442 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Shahed-Geran, and Herbera types, as well as 12 ballistic missiles such as the Iskander-M/KN-23. As a result of the massive overnight attack on 21 July, residential buildings in several regions of Ukraine were damaged, with reports of casualties and injuries.
▶ The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that following Ukraine’s Operation Pavutyna on 1 June, Russia began constructing concrete bunkers and defensive structures at the Saky military airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea. Satellite imagery shows similar construction activities at other Crimean airbases.
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 1472 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 district posted an image on social media featuring the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags along with the caption “Crimea is Ukraine. And no one can stop it.” The occupying forces detained the woman, accusing her of so-called “discrediting the Russian army” and unlawfully fined her 50,000 rubles.
▶ A resident of occupied Simferopol allegedly called for violence against Russians on social media. The occupying forces detained the man and are unlawfully charging him with “public calls for extremism.”
▶ Activists from the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement carried out an action featuring Ukrainian symbols in temporarily occupied Crimea to mark the Day of Ukrainian Statehood. In addition, they distributed patriotic leaflets in several occupied cities across the peninsula — Yalta, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Bakhchysarai, and Yevpatoriia.
▶ Activists from the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement reported the destruction of four Russian armoured personnel carriers on the outskirts of Yevpatoriia, en route to Saky, near coastal roads. According to local residents, the vehicles caught fire following a direct hit — military equipment, dry vegetation, and wooden fortifications were engulfed in flames. Due to extreme heat exceeding +40°C, extinguishing the fire was nearly impossible. The fate of the crews remains unknown, but all the vehicles were completely destroyed. Following the incident, patrols and security checks in the city were intensified.
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.