The annual press conference summarizing the activities of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for 2024 was held today. Journalists from leading Ukrainian and international media attended the event at the Mission’s office.
The press conference featured Acting Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Olha Kuryshko, Deputy Permanent Representative Denys Chystikov, and Tamila Tasheva, who served as the Permanent Representative from 2022 to 2024. The event was moderated by Yevhen Bondarenko, Head of the Mission’s Information Department.
Acting Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Olha Kuryshko, thanked journalists for their visit to the Mission and for their continued focus on the issue of Crimea. She emphasized that in 2024, the Mission systematically carried out its work under martial law, concentrating on key areas. These included monitoring the situation on the peninsula, legal initiatives, collaboration with international partners through the Crimea Platform, and providing assistance to Ukrainians in occupied Crimea.
Olha Kuryshko outlined specific steps in developing and implementing state policy for occupied Crimea. Among them are work on the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Regulation of Pensionable Service Calculation and Pension Provision,” the draft law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Legal Regime of Martial Law’ regarding the Specifics of Restoring Public Authority in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol,” and the Cabinet’s decree “On Approval of the Concept for the Restoration of Education in De-Occupied Territories and the Adoption of an Action Plan for Its Implementation.” She also mentioned the Strategy for the Cognitive De-Occupation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and its corresponding action plan, which are awaiting approval by the Cabinet of Ministers. Kuryshko highlighted major events held in 2024:
“An essential component of our activities in 2024 involved organizing high-level events and conducting informational and educational campaigns. Among these were initiatives marking the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea, including the forum 26-2-14: The War Began in Crimea, the informational campaign 10 Years of Resistance sharing the stories of Ukrainian citizens resisting Russian occupation, and the campaign The Resistance Continues. Additionally, we opened the exhibition LOMYKAMIN. Women’s Resistance in Crimea with the participation of the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, and diplomats. The Mission also contributed to organizing and hosting the annual Iftar and creating the photo project Qarşılıq / Resistance, which features portraits of Crimean Tatar service members and their motivation to fight for the liberation of all occupied territories and Ukraine’s victory. This Iftar tradition, initiated in 2023 at the state level by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has become a significant event.”
Kuryshko also noted the informational campaign for the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide, supported by the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. Across Ukraine, the campaign featured 162 city lights, 207 billboards, 9,000 posters, and 163 electronic advertisements honoring the faces of survivors and drawing attention to Russia’s crimes against the Crimean Tatars. The artistic project QIRIM İÇÜN / For Crimea was also showcased as part of the Mission’s efforts.
Deputy Permanent Representative Denys Chystikov outlined the worsening situation for Ukrainian citizens on the Crimean Peninsula, where political persecution and unlawful detentions by the occupation administrations continue to escalate. As of December 2024, there are 218 political prisoners, including 132 Crimean Tatars. More than 40 Crimean political prisoners have been unlawfully transferred, effectively deported, to penitentiary facilities across Russia. Since the beginning of 2024 alone, at least 12 political prisoners have been illegally relocated from Crimea to prisons in the Russian Federation. Furthermore, at least 20 political prisoners have been unlawfully moved from Russian prisons to penal colonies in remote regions of Russia, often thousands of kilometers away from Crimea. Another grave violation and method of pressure is the systematic denial of medical assistance. Over 60 Crimean political prisoners are currently in urgent need of medical care.
After February 24, 2022, Russia introduced administrative liability for so-called “discrediting the Russian army.” As of the end of November 2024, the Mission recorded 1,093 cases of materials submitted under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation to the so-called “courts” in occupied Crimea. In 955 of these cases, rulings were issued imposing administrative fines or combining them with other cases under different articles, resulting in collective decisions.
“Since the beginning of Crimea’s occupation, the Russian occupation administration has exerted administrative, judicial, and forceful pressure on the Crimean Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) to cease its activities and drive it out of the occupied territory. In May 2023, following systematic administrative pressure, the occupiers finally seized the Cathedral of Saints Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr and Princess Olha in Simferopol. On April 8, 2024, by decision of the occupation administration, the dome of this cathedral, which served as the central shrine of the OCU in Crimea, was dismantled. On August 29, the occupiers destroyed the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Yevpatoriia — the last Orthodox church of the Ukrainian Church in Crimea,” stated Denys Chystikov.
The press conference also emphasized the work with citizens’ appeals. It is important to note that in 2024, the Mission processed about 1436 appeals from Ukrainian citizens, including Crimeans, on various issues. During the year, we managed to help 27 people leave the occupation. 97 of our citizens received assistance restoring/receiving Ukrainian passports, and 24 received legal assistance with educational documents.
The Permanent Representative for 2022-2024, Tamila Tasheva, also described other significant activities of the institution. In particular, on September 11, 2024, in Kyiv, as part of the events for the Fourth Summit of the Crimea Platform, the Memorial to the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide was unveiled. This is an awaited and important commemorative sign, which has gained special significance in the modern history of Ukraine, as in 2014, another wave of ethnic repression by the occupiers against the Crimean Tatars, the Indigenous people of Ukraine, began.
Tamila Tasheva also emphasized the importance of working with the international audience, which needs to be told more about the true history of Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula. In addition, she highlighted the activities of the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies, which is a joint initiative of the Foundation of the President of Ukraine for Support of Education, Science, and Sports, the Ukrainian Institute, the Mission / Office of the Crimea Platform, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The coalition’s goal is to unite initiatives and programs worldwide and promote the development of Ukrainian Studies, including Crimean Tatar Studies, to ensure accurate and professional study of the history and culture of Ukraine.
During the meeting with the journalists, the leadership of the Mission spoke about the activities of the Council on Cognitive De-occupation of Crimea, which continues its work in the field of tactical steps and measures to promote the implementation of the Strategy for Cognitive De-occupation of Crimea in various aspects. The following activities were emphasized within the framework of the Council’s activities: simulation exercises on various aspects of the cognitive de-occupation of the population of occupied Crimea; organization and holding of workshops on national memory; interreligious dialogue Processes of De-occupation and Reintegration of Crimea. Key Challenges, Risks, and Ways to Overcome; presentation of the results of the activities of the Council on Cognitive De-occupation of Crimea.
Special attention was paid to the Mission’s cooperation with youth, analytical, and communication activities, as well as its work with the international audience.
On September 11, the Fourth Summit of the Crimea Platform took place in Kyiv, bringing together 60 representatives of different countries and international organizations to discuss the problems in occupied Crimea and accelerate the de-occupation of the peninsula. The Office of the President of Ukraine, the Mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, and other partners were actively involved in organizing the Summit. This year, the geography of participation of countries and international organizations expanded. For the first time, Argentina, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance joined the governmental format of the Crimea Platform.
On October 24, 2024, the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform was held in Riga. It brought together more than 70 delegations, including 36 heads of parliament, in online and offline formats. On the sidelines of the Summit, many artworks and exhibitions were presented, united by the exhibition QIRIM İÇÜN / For Crimea, which the Mission organized.
In November, Kyiv hosted the Second International Conference Crimea Global. Understanding Ukraine through the South, which brought together experts, analysts, journalists, academics, and opinion leaders from different countries of Africa, Asia, South and Central America, including India, Brazil, Iraq, Sudan, Mexico, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea and others, to discuss current challenges and prospects for cooperation with Ukraine.
The team of the Mission expressed gratitude to the partners, representatives of other state bodies, NGOs, and experts for their cooperation and joint efforts to bring the de-occupation of the peninsula closer. In particular, they emphasized using the results of a comprehensive sociological study on the cognitive de-occupation of Crimea conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) at the request of the Mission and the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine. It states that there is a lack of information about Crimea in the Ukrainian information space, and the level of awareness of the residents of mainland Ukraine (including Crimean Tatars) about the peninsula is low. Therefore, it was emphasized that it is important to talk more about Crimea, to cover the crimes of the occupiers on the peninsula, and to highlight the resistance movement in occupied Crimea.
The complete study is available here: https://cutt.ly/5eBECWOe