31 December 2024
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON DECEMBER 31, 2024
Main news of the week
▶ The environmental situation in Crimea is rapidly deteriorating following the sinking of two Russian oil tankers near the Kerch Strait. Local residents report that fuel oil is quickly spreading along the Crimean coastline, while the local occupation administration demonstrates its inability to effectively address the environmental disaster. Furthermore, the occupiers are concealing the true scale of the catastrophe. Residents have been forced to organize themselves to clean up beaches and rescue marine animals and birds.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of December 2024, Russia has illegally imprisoned 218 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 132 Crimean Tatars.
▶ Crimean political prisoner Teimur Abdullaiev, unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 16.5 years in prison, has been placed in solitary confinement for 15 days despite his deteriorating health. He suffers from hypertension and severe headaches, his vision is worsening, and he has lost his hearing due to otitis. Additionally, he experiences persistent pain in his stomach, liver, and teeth.
▶ The occupiers have unlawfully detained and sentenced a group of individuals for supporting pro-Ukrainian views. The occupation “court” imposed illegal prison terms of 12, 8, and 2 years in a penal colony. Details of the case remain unknown.
▶ Osman Seitumerov, a Crimean activist unlawfully sentenced by Russia to 14 years of imprisonment, reports worsening health conditions in a Russian prison, including periodic gastritis attacks.
▶ On December 26, 2024, the occupation “court” unlawfully sentenced Ukrainian activist Oksana Senedzhuk from occupied Sevastopol to 15 years in prison. The persecution of the activist began in 2022 due to her public statements opposing Russia’s war against Ukraine. She is now accused of alleged “treason.” The persecution is politically motivated and serves as further evidence of the repressive actions of the occupation administration against Ukrainian citizens for their stance.
▶ Crimean political prisoner Muslim Aliiev was unjustly placed in a solitary punishment cell for 15 days for performing a prayer (namaz). Russian occupiers continue to exert pressure on Crimean political prisoners based on ethnic and religious grounds, even during their unlawful imprisonment in Russian detention facilities.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
▶ According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian occupiers carried out a series of attacks on Ukrainian territory over the past week. These included 10 Shahed-type attack drones and unmanned aerial vehicles of an unidentified type, launched from the territory of occupied Crimea and the waters of the Black Sea. Russian forces also targeted southern regions of Ukraine with missile strikes.
▶ Activists of the ATESH movement uncovered new defensive structures built by Russian occupiers near the settlement of Chornomorske. They identified new storage sites for specialized equipment and weapons, a shooting range, and fortifications. The data and coordinates have been passed to the relevant Ukrainian authorities. Additionally, ATESH reports that the occupiers are constructing protective structures at the airfield in Saky to shield against potential strikes by Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Ukraine has previously delivered multiple successful strikes on occupiers at this airfield.
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 1,126 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 Saky expressed negative opinions about the Russian occupiers on social media. The occupiers detained the man and unlawfully fined him 40,000 rubles, accusing him of so-called “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.”
▶ A resident of Turhenivka village in the Bakhchysarai district spoke out on social media against the Russian occupiers, called for resistance, expressed support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and criticized Russia’s occupation of Crimea. Occupation security forces detained the man, and he now faces the threat of an unlawful criminal case.
▶ Another resident of Turhenivka village in the Bakhchysarai district publicly shouted slogans against the Russian occupiers and voiced support for Ukraine. Russian security forces unlawfully detained the man, who is currently being held in a pre-trial detention cell.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement conducted a new action in occupied Simferopol and Feodosiia, reminding the occupiers that Crimea is awaiting the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, they distributed patriotic stickers in Simferopol to support local residents during the New Year period.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls extended Christmas greetings, emphasizing that despite persecution and bans by the occupiers, residents of occupied Crimea continue to celebrate Christmas alongside the civilized world.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to maintain its diaries, sharing insights into the realities of life in the occupied territories. Additionally, the activists distribute patriotic symbols of resistance in occupied Simferopol, Yalta, and Bakhchysarai.
▶ Resistance activists from the ATESH movement in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories reported that the occupiers intensified surveillance of individuals celebrating Christmas on December 24 and 25. At workplaces, the occupiers handed over lists of such individuals to Russian security services, labeling them as “potential saboteurs.” The occupiers view celebrating Christmas on these dates as an expression of Ukrainian identity and seek to suppress any cultural traditions associated with the Ukrainian church and people.
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.