23 July 2024
WEEKLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN OCCUPIED CRIMEA ON JULY 23, 2024
Main news of the week
▶ On the night of July 18, a Russian coast guard base on Lake Donuzlav in Crimea was damaged. It was a combined attack by sea and air drones, which resulted in the destruction of the headquarters with a command center, an ammunition and equipment depot, and an electrical substation, technical facilities; enemy firing positions.
▶ On July 21, in Yevpatoriia, the occupation administration began dismantling the Holy Cross Exaltation Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which is an act of violation of international law, including human rights and the right to freedom of religion enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
Crimes committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of July 23, 2024, Russia has illegally imprisoned 217 people in occupied Crimea on ethnic, religious, and political grounds, including 132 Crimean Tatars.
▶ The occupational “court” canceled the fine imposed on Lutfiie Zudiieva, a Crimean human rights activist and journalist, for posts from three years ago. The invaders recognized that the actions of the Russian security forces were unlawful, and they had no right to draw up a protocol against the human rights activist.
▶ The occupants illegally sentenced three Crimean Tatars—brothers Artur, Arsen, and Abliamed Memetshaiev—from the village of Chonhar, Henichesk district, Kherson region, to imprisonment. They were accused of alleged involvement in the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion. The Russians have sentenced Artur Memetshaiev to 6.5 years in prison and are holding him in Mordovia, Russia; Arsen Memetshaiev was sentenced to 5 years in jail and is being held in Lypetsk, Russia; Abliamed Memetshaiev was also deprived of his liberty for five years and is now in Dymytrovhrad, Russia.
▶ The occupational “court” in Simferopol did not satisfy the appeal of the representatives of the Qırım newspaper. It confirmed the fine of 300 thousand rubles for the so-called “discrediting the Russian army.” In the publication for which the fine was imposed, the editors called on Crimean residents not to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military achievements in Crimea and the Black Sea
▶ Since the beginning of the summer, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have conducted at least 11 effective strikes on the facilities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. These included damage to the Russian tugboat Project 498 Saturn or Proteus on Panske Lake, damage to three S-300 divisions, four S-400 systems, and three radar systems, a strike on a military facility near the village of Michurinivka, a fire at the training grounds in Vitino and near Cape Chauda (from where the occupiers launch the Shahed UAVs attacks on the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure), and damage to an ammunition depot in the Balaklava district.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has regained control over most of the Black Sea despite the lack of its navy. Thanks to systematic international support, the Defense Forces of Ukraine are systematically destroying enemy military facilities in occupied Crimea.
Use the territory of occupied Crimea as a military base and a springboard for attacks on Ukraine
▶ According to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on July 16, the Russian occupiers launched four reconnaissance UAVs of the Orlan-10 and ZALA types, after which they attacked civilian targets in the Kherson and Odesa regions with Iskander-M ballistic missiles from the territory of occupied Crimea. On the night of July 21, the occupiers again launched a massive combined attack on Ukrainian cities with three Iskander-M ballistic missiles and 39 Shahed strike UAVs, including from the occupied peninsula.
Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion and spread its military aggression throughout Ukraine, Russians have been using occupied Crimea as a military base for spreading aggression in various forms. From the peninsula, the occupiers continue to strike at the territory of Ukraine, including civilian infrastructure.
Deterioration of the environmental situation in Crimea as a result of the actions of the Russian troops
▶ Due to Russian troops undermining the Kakhovka Dam and hydroelectric power plant in June 2023, Crimea may become a semi-desert, forcing about half a million people to leave the area. Vegetation cover in the previously irrigated areas of southern Kherson and Crimea has decreased by 85%. Most agriculture and even human habitation may become impossible.
▶ The problem of water shortage is sharply escalating in occupied Crimea. According to activists, the highest waterfall in Crimea, Uchan-Su, has dried up. The Alma and Chorna rivers, which provide water for about 700,000 occupied Simferopol and Sevastopol residents, are almost dry. The problems of fresh water supply in Crimea are also the result of an artificial disaster caused by the Russian occupiers at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Many smaller rivers are also on the verge of drying up, causing the water level in the reservoirs to drop sharply. The occupiers, in turn, ignore this problem and claim that there are no problems with the water supply in Crimea.
The colonial policy towards Crimea is manifested, among other things, in the exploitation and depletion of natural resources. After analyzing the limited studies on this topic, it is evident that the primary factor is the escalation of Russian militarization in the peninsula.
Resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ Russia has already prosecuted 847 people in occupied Crimea for expressing solidarity with Ukraine. People receive administrative penalties in the form of illegal fines and arrests.
▶ In Yalta, the father of an athlete demonstratively did not stand up during the performance of the anthem of the occupying state at a tournament in Simferopol. For this, the Russian security forces are persecuting the man and his son.
▶ In Sevastopol, the Russian security forces detained a 19-year-old school graduate for criticizing the Russian occupation army and posting Ukrainian symbols on his social media page. He faces a fine of 30 to 50 thousand rubles.
▶ A 31-year-old man used the Ukrainian patriotic slogan “Glory to Ukraine, Glory to Heroes” in a private conversation on a beach. The occupation “court” illegally arrested the man for 12 days.
▶ Two brothers from the village of Morske, the Feodosiia region of occupied Crimea, posted on social media that they were waiting for the liberation of Crimea from the Russian occupiers and had flags of Ukraine at home. The occupiers illegally detained the men for 15 days and sent them to a temporary isolation center.
▶ A resident of the village of Lisne, Feodosiia region, spoke in support of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, expressed waiting for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and did not support the Russian occupation of the peninsula. Russian security forces detained him and sent materials to the occupation “court.”
▶ The activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to resist the occupiers in Crimea, destroying copies of propaganda materials and distributing patriotic symbols in the occupied cities on the peninsula, particularly in Simferopol, Yalta, Alushta, Sevastopol, and others. The activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement held a new campaign in Alushta to distribute yellow and blue heart-shaped stickers on the city streets.
▶ The activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to publish its diaries and distribute a weekly newspaper revealing the occupiers’ crimes. The activists also distributed their symbols, so patriotic stickers appeared in Yalta.
▶ Activists of the ATESH resistance movement monitor the construction of the occupiers’ fortifications in Yevpatoriia and investigate the deployment of Russian military equipment in Sevastopol. The activists pass all the data to the relevant Ukrainian services.
A sharp increase in solidarity and resistance actions of the residents of occupied Crimea against the Russian occupiers marked the full-scale invasion. Residents of the occupied territories unite in resistance movements, such as the mentioned Yellow Ribbon movement, 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.”
The 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. The war in Ukraine is not a local or regional issue but a threat to the whole world and international order.
We urge the international community not to ignore Russian crimes against Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea and to spread information about human rights violations in the occupation.