26 May 2026
Weekly update on the situation in occupied Crimea on May 26, 2026
Main News of the Week
▶ On the night of May 24, the Ukrainian military struck an ammunition storage facility in Mizhhirya in Crimea.
▶ The European Court of Human Rights has found that the Russian invaders violated the right to freedom of religion of Yusuf Ashirov, the former imam of the Alushta Muslim community. The ruling concerns administrative persecution in 2020–2021, when cases were opened against him for allegedly “illegal missionary activity.” Subsequently, the Yukary-Jami mosque where he worked was searched, and new cases were initiated against him. The court separately emphasized that Russia illegally applied its legislation in the territory of Crimea, which contradicts the European Convention on Human Rights.
▶ In the territory of temporarily occupied Sevastopol, 250 fourth-grade students graduated from the Orlyata of Russia program and joined the sanctioned Movement of the First. Both organizations are aimed at the ideological processing of youth and the erasure of the identity of the growing generation. The total number of participants in Orlyata of Russia is over 16,500 children.
▶ According to the Regional Center for Human Rights, since the beginning of the year, the occupation administration has issued at least 56 permits for illegal excavations on the peninsula. Russian invaders are already creating expedition groups and processing documents through the Ministry of Culture of the RF without the permission of Ukraine, which also does not comply with the norms of international humanitarian law.
Crimes Committed by the Russian Federation
▶ As of April 23, 2026, 303 people in the territory of occupied Crimea are subject to the policy of political persecution, 164 of whom are Crimean Tatars and 1 is a Karaite.
▶ Political prisoner Lera Dzhemilova will be moved to Correctional Colony No. 28 in the Volgograd region of the RF. She is currently in a SIZO in Volgograd awaiting the transfer of convicted women to Leninsk, where the only women’s colony in the region is located. In 2024, the Russian invaders kidnapped and subsequently sentenced her to 15 years on charges of so-called state treason.
▶ The occupation administration initiated a new criminal case against Mamut Belialov for so-called state treason. He was illegally arrested in 2022 in the village of Ichki on charges of an alleged attempt on the life of the so-called minister of resorts and tourism of Crimea Vadim Volchenko. In 2024, the occupation court sentenced him to 12 years in prison, a fine, and compensation to Volchenko. Later, the term and fine were reduced. Since 2025, the man has been held in SIZO No. 2 in Simferopol. Due to inadequate detention conditions, his health has deteriorated, with diseases of the urinary system appearing.
▶ A Russian court announced the verdict in a criminal case regarding Crimean Tatars: Remzi Kurtniezirov, Nariman Amietov, Ali Mamutov, Vokhid Mustafaiev, and Enver Khalilaiiev. The men are accused of “organizing the activities of a terrorist organization,” “preparation of a crime,” and so-called violent seizure and retention of power. The occupation court found all defendants guilty and sentenced them to imprisonment in a strict-regime colony: Kurtniezirov – 20 years; Amietov – 15 years; Mamutov – 14 years; Mustafaiev – 14 years; Khalilaiiev – 14.5 years. The verdict has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed to a military appellate court.
▶ Crimean Tatar political prisoner Lenur Khalilov, who has cancer, has been in a Russian hospital for the second month without proper treatment. According to his wife, Khalilov complains of extreme weakness, and instead of specialized medical care, he receives only painkillers. She also stated that despite being assigned Category III disability and having the right to medical supplies, the necessary medication is not provided to him. In 2019, Lenur Khalilov was illegally arrested during large-scale searches by Russian security forces in Crimea. He was subsequently sentenced to 18 years in prison for alleged participation in the Hizb ut-Tahrir organization. In 2024, a Russian court initially released him from serving his sentence due to his health condition; however, the decision was later overturned, and he was returned to prison.
▶ The health of political prisoner Dmytro Shtyblykov has significantly deteriorated. According to his family, after he was transferred to a strict detention unit, problems with correspondence arose, and the administration does not issue the medication provided for him. The political prisoner’s daughter reports the exacerbation of chronic diseases due to the lack of proper examination and limited access to parcels. Human rights activists add that during his years of imprisonment, Shtyblykov’s health has significantly worsened: hypertension has appeared, his vision has deteriorated, and dental problems have arisen.
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 Russian invaders carried out another series of massive combined attacks on the territory of Ukraine during the week. In particular, they launched over 1,500 strike UAVs of the Shahed, Gerbera, and Italmas types, as well as Parodiia decoy drones, 3 Zircon 3M22 hypersonic missiles, and 2 Iskander-M missiles, including from the territory of occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.
▶ The monitoring group Crimean Wind reported the presence of a bulk carrier near the coast of Yalta. According to the group, the vessel is awaiting permission to enter the port of Sevastopol to be loaded with stolen Ukrainian grain taken from the temporarily occupied territories.
The resistance movement of Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement recorded the introduction of additional checks for passengers of long-distance buses in Simferopol.
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 invaders. 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 occupation administration 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.