WEEKLY UPDATE ABOUT THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON MAY 7, 2024
Main news of the week
▶ ️ On May 6, a unit of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, using a Magura V5 maritime attack drone, destroyed Mongoose, a high-speed warship of the Russian invaders, in the area of Vuzka Bay in the west of the occupied Crimea.
▶ The Russians have extended the illegal detention of Leniie Umerova for another three months, until August 4, 2024. The occupiers arrested the girl in 2022 for refusing to take a Russian passport after the occupation of Crimea in 2014. The actions of the Russians in the occupied Crimea contradict international law regarding the situation of civilians in times of war.
▶ Rustem Sheikhaliiev, a civilian journalist, was illegally transferred by the Russians to Yeniseisk prison in the Krasnoyarsk region. Rustem faces up to 20 years in prison for revealing the repression of Muslims in Crimea by the Russian occupiers.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of May 7, 2024, Russia has illegally detained 218 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ Erol Valiiev, an assistant to Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev, was arrested on his way back to Ukraine by Moldovan special services at the request of Russia. Russia has falsely accused him of terrorism.
▶ In occupied Sevastopol, the Russian invaders sentenced a 51-year-old Ukrainian citizen to 2.5 years in prison for anti-Russian statements on social media.
▶ The occupation “court” extended the illegal house arrest of the former imam of the Lobanovo mosque, Remzi Kurtnezyrov, until August 4. In addition, the Russians will illegally place a Crimean Tatar in a hospital for psychiatric examination in mid-July.
▶ The Russians continue to illegally detain Crimean Tatar activists and journalists in occupied Crimea. For example, activist Enver Krosh, civilian journalist Vilen Temerianov, Rinat Aliiev, and Edem Bekirov will remain in Russian custody until August 29, 2024. Seitiaha Abbozov remains under house arrest. Memet Liumanov, Aziz Azizov, Rustem Osmanov, and Mustafa Abduru will remain in Russian detention until August 2 of this year.
Illegal mobilization and violations of the Geneva Conventions, the laws and customs of war
▶ Residents of occupied Crimea report that the Russians on the peninsula are intensifying the illegal mobilization of Ukrainian citizens into the ranks of the Russian occupation army. The occupiers have deployed two mobile mobilization brigades in at least two shopping malls in occupied Sevastopol, where they are recruiting men to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, in violation of the international norms of the Geneva Convention.
Using the territory of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine
▶ According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on May 1 and 2, the Russians fired Iskander-M ballistic missiles from occupied Crimea at Odesa, Kharkiv, and Dnipro regions. Also on May 4, the Russian invaders struck Odesa with two cruise missiles. According to local authorities, civilian infrastructure was damaged and three people were injured. In addition, according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on May 5, the Russians launched a massive air attack with 24 HESA Shahed 136 attack UAVs, including from Cape Chauda in the occupied Crimea.
Resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied Crimea
▶️ Russia has already prosecuted 802 people in the occupied Crimea for expressing solidarity with Ukraine. People receive administrative punishments in the form of illegal fines and arrests. In the past two weeks, the Russians have arrested at least 22 people.
▶️ A resident of occupied Crimea who posted pro-Ukrainian posts on his social media was detained by Russian security forces. Even though the man does not speak Russian well, the occupiers also forced him to apologize on camera.
▶️ A resident of occupied Simferopol criticized the criminal activities of the Russian army on social media and spoke negatively about Russia and the Russian “president”. The occupying forces illegally broke into the man’s house, searched it, and detained him.
▶ In occupied Kerch, a man spoke out against the Russian aggression against Ukraine on social media, criticizing the Russian army and the Russian Federation. For this, he was detained by the occupiers, forced to apologize on camera, and sent the materials to the occupation “court”.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement in the occupied territories of Ukraine continue to stand up to the occupiers in Crimea, destroying copies of propaganda materials and distributing patriotic symbols in the occupied cities of the peninsula. For example, patriotic posters and yellow ribbons have reappeared in Simferopol, Yalta, Alushta, Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia and other cities of the occupied peninsula. In addition, activists are launching a campaign called “Burn the St. George Ribbon of the Occupiers” to destroy the St. George Ribbon and other symbols of the criminal actions of the Russian occupiers.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in the occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka women’s resistance movement has published a weekly newspaper that exposes the crimes of the Russian occupiers.
▶ Activists of the ATESH resistance movement investigated the Russian military equipment park and missile weapons depot in occupied Sevastopol. In addition, the activists recorded the transfer of Russian Grad multiple rocket launchers from the occupied Dzhankoy to the Kherson region, which are often used by the Russians to shell the liberated city of Kherson.
We urge the international community not to ignore Russian crimes against Ukrainian citizens in the occupied Crimea and to disseminate information about human rights violations in the occupation.