Thanks to the efforts of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Defense Forces of Ukraine, and our international partners, following the release of Nariman Dzhelyal, we welcome Leniie Umerova back to her homeland today. Leniie, a 26-year-old Crimean Tatar, was imprisoned by the occupiers merely for having a Crimean registration stamp on her Ukrainian passport. This marks the second significant Crimean release in recent months.

“49 Ukrainians are home now. These are soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Border Guard Service, and our civilians. Among them is Leniie Umerova, a young woman taken hostage by the Russians when she came to care for her sick father,” President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said.

Leniie was detained while traveling to Crimea to visit her father, who was battling cancer. When Russian security forces saw the Crimean registration in her Ukrainian passport, they initiated “additional checks.” Their anger grew when they discovered that Leniie held a distinctly pro-Ukrainian stance based on the contents of her phone. The occupiers quickly fabricated reasons to imprison her. In December 2022 after several baseless and absurd administrative arrests, Leniie was eventually charged with a more serious criminal offense — “espionage.”

Within a few months, she found herself in Moscow’s infamous Lefortovo detention center, where so-called “dangerous spies” and “traitors” are held.

Throughout this ordeal, Leniie remained incredibly brave. Even while in captivity, entirely under the control of the Russian security system, she didn’t hide her pro-Ukrainian beliefs. She found ways to express them publicly despite the secrecy surrounding her trial. “Everything will be great! Glory to Ukraine!” she shouted as she was being led from one of the court listenings, during which her detention was extended again.

Leniie spent more than a year and a half in illegal Russian captivity, but she is now free and back in Ukraine. We believe that through the combined efforts of Ukraine, especially our Armed Forces, and the international community, she will soon be able to safely visit her family in Ukrainian Crimea.