21 April 2026
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON APRIL 21, 2026
Main News of the Week
▶ According to the National Resistance Center, the Russians are preparing psychologists to work in the temporarily occupied territories to train them in new psychological tactics for influencing prisoners.
▶ The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported hitting a Nebo-SVU radar station near Gvardiiske.
▶ The 414th Separate Regiment “Birds of Magyar” struck a Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system in Feodosia, an Iskander operational-tactical missile system base in Mizhhirya and Kurortne, as well as two oil depots — Oktyabrske and in Hlybokyi Yar.
▶ Furthermore, servicemen of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) struck three warships: two large landing ships (LST) of the Russian Navy, the Yamal and the Azov, and one of an unidentified type. They also damaged a Dolphin communication system antenna block, an MR-10M1 Mys-M1 radar station, and fuel tanks at the Yugtorsan oil depot.
▶ The “Ghosts” special unit of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) struck two Russian landing ships in Sevastopol: the LST 775 Yamal and the LST 1171 Nikolai Filchenkov. They also managed to destroy a Podlyot-K1 radar station.
Crimes Committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of March 11, 2026, 286 people in the territory of occupied Crimea are subject to political persecution, 159 of whom are Crimean Tatars.
▶ Political prisoner Gennadiy Lymeshko has had no contact with the outside world for 7 months following a repeated sentence by the Russian Federation. The last information regarding his whereabouts was in September 2025. He was supposed to be transferred from a SIZO in Stavropol to a colony, but his exact location remains unknown.
▶ An occupation court upheld the preventive measures for four Crimean Tatar women — Fevziye Osmanova, Elviza Aliieva, Esma Nimetulaieva, and Nasiba Saidova. The occupiers detained them in October 2025 and accused them of alleged terrorist activity. They have remained in Russian captivity since then.
▶ The health of political prisoner Arsen Abkhaiirov is deteriorating. He suffers from headaches, blood pressure fluctuations, and worsening vision. The occupiers detained Abkhaiirov in 2019 following searches and subsequently sentenced him to 13 years in prison in a fabricated case. He is currently being held in Colony No. 9 in the Chuvash Republic of the Russian Federation.
▶ Sergey Lykhomanov was transferred from the territory of the Russian Federation to SIZO No. 2 in temporarily occupied Simferopol. Initially, the occupiers sentenced the man to 5 years in a colony, accusing him of the alleged transportation of explosives. However, in October 2025, the charge was reclassified to the so-called state treason, and his term was increased to 15 years in prison.
The use of occupied Crimea as a springboard for attacks on Ukraine and the militarization of the peninsula
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 Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the occupiers carried out another series of massive combined attacks on the territory of Ukraine during the week. In particular, they launched over 500 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas types, as well as an Iskander-M ballistic missile, including from the territory of occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.
▶ The monitoring group Crimean Wind recorded a cargo vessel being loaded in Komysheva Bay near Sevastopol. Additionally, two bulk carriers were recorded at anchor near Yalta, awaiting permission to enter the port of Sevastopol for the subsequent, most likely, theft of Ukrainian grain. Later, the group also recorded a bulk carrier exiting Sevastopol Bay which, according to previous reports, had been loaded with Ukrainian grain.
▶ The occupiers continue to militarize youth in the territory of the temporarily occupied peninsula. For instance, in Kerch, the Russians conducted masterclasses on drone piloting and tactical medicine for approximately 600 students.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ According to activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement, starting September 1, the Russian Federation will require owners of .ru, .рф, and .su domains to register websites through the State Services portal and undergo verification through the so-called Unified Identification and Authentication System. In practice, this will make it impossible to administer websites anonymously and strengthen state control over internet resources.
The full-scale invasion was marked by a sharp increase in acts of solidarity and resistance by the residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers. Residents of the occupied territories unite in resistance movements, such as Yellow Ribbon, Zla Mavka, and ATESH, or act individually.
To suppress the resistance movement of local residents in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea after February 24, 2022, the occupiers actively began to persecute and bring Ukrainian citizens to administrative liability under the article on the so-called discrediting the Russian army.
De-occupation of Crimea is an integral part of ending the war and restoring peace. Ukrainians are doing everything possible to stop the aggressor and protect the entire world from Russia’s criminal actions. Since this is not a local or regional problem, Russia’s aggression poses a threat to the entire world and the international order.