22 February 2025
A Meeting of the Focal Points Network of the Crimea Platform Member States Was Held
On February 21, an online meeting of the Focal Points Network of the Crimea Platform member states was held with the participation of the Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko. Experts informed international partners about the current developments in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea, including the intensification of persecution by Russia for pro-Ukrainian stance, religious persecution, and violations of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, the ecological disaster caused by Russian oil spills in the Black Sea, as well as the destruction and theft of Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea.
The meeting was attended by a representative of the Crimea Platform Expert Network and Chairperson of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group Olha Skrypnyk, Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in Ukraine Suleyman Mamutov, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Serhii Bieliaiev, Senior Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine Evelina Kravchenko, Director of Greenpeace Ukraine Natalia Gozak, Deputy Head of the Crimea Platform Support Service Anna Sytnikova, and Illia Kvas, Head of the 6th Territorial Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko, emphasized that February 26 is a key date in the history of resistance to the occupation of Crimea, which has lasted for 11 years. On this day, Ukraine not only recalls the events that preceded the unlawful establishment of the occupation administration but also honors those who, at the cost of their own freedom and lives, defended Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“We are marking 11 years of resistance to the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Eleven years ago, the largest pro-Ukrainian rally took place near the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Later, the occupiers began persecuting and unlawfully imprisoning the participants of the Ukrainian rally. We remember and honor those who resisted in the past and those who continue to resist the occupation of the peninsula today,” emphasized Olha Kuryshko.
During the online meeting, the representative of the Crimea Platform Expert Network and Chairperson of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Olha Skrypnyk, spoke about persecution on ethnic, religious, and political grounds in occupied Crimea. She emphasized the growing number of civilian hostages, noting that as of now, Russia is holding at least 250 individuals.
“The occupation administration continues to fabricate cases against Ukrainian citizens, accusing them of so-called ‘terrorism’ and ‘extremism.’ Russia has started using the peninsula as a prison for civilians abducted from other newly occupied regions following the beginning of the full-scale invasion. These unlawfully imprisoned Ukrainian citizens are being held without contact with their families and without the opportunity to receive legal assistance,” stated Olha Skrypnyk.
Member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in Ukraine, Suleyman Mamutov, raised the issue of religious persecution in occupied Crimea, particularly the ultimate elimination of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, persecution of Crimean Muslims, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“Before the occupation in 2014, there were approximately 2,220 religious organizations in Crimea, with over 1,000 officially registered. In January 2024, ten years after the occupation, we are witnessing a sharp decline in the number of these communities due to persecution by the occupation administration and the forced imposition of Russian legislation on the peninsula,” emphasized Suleyman Mamutov.
Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Serhii Bieliaiev and Senior Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine Evelina Kravchenko, drew attention to the destruction and theft of cultural heritage from Crimea and the illegal export of museum artifacts through the peninsula to the territory of Russia.
“The occupation administration is conducting so-called “restoration work” in Crimea, which in reality serves as another method of destroying historical and cultural heritage. One of the most striking examples is the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai, which in 2014 was included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. During such “restoration,” significant damage was inflicted on the secular corps, and numerous authentic elements of the complex were replaced with modern materials, significantly distorting the historical appearance of the only preserved monument of Crimean Tatar palace architecture,” noted Evelina Kravchenko.
In her speech, the Director of Greenpeace Ukraine, Natalia Gozak, addressed the topic of the ecological disaster in the waters of the Kerch Strait, caused by the accident of two Russian tankers, “Volgoneft-212” and “Volgoneft-239.”
“The entire territory of the Crimean Peninsula, especially the Kerch Strait, is chronically polluted—this is nothing less than ecocide. This catastrophe could have been prevented or at least mitigated, but unfortunately, we see no efforts from the Russian Federation to clean the waters from fuel oil spills. Moreover, even the collected pollution on the shore was not properly disposed of, which only worsens the ecological situation,” stated Natalia Gozak.