“When the world is faced with the choice between international law and injustice, between the fulfillment of an aggressor’s demands or the defense of global order, our presence here today is proof that the democratic world will not surrender Ukraine, including Crimea,” Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

Olha Kuryshko noted that by beginning its aggression against Ukraine and occupying Crimea in 2014, Russia used the peninsula as a springboard for a full-scale invasion of mainland Ukraine, and the peninsula itself was transformed into a territory of gross human rights violations: enforced disappearances, torture, persecution, forced deportation, as well as the unlawful transfer and relocation of Ukrainian children.

The Permanent Representative also emphasized that despite Russia’s pressure, the spirit of the citizens in Crimea has not been broken — they continue to support Ukraine and resist the occupation. She highlighted that the international community must together insist on the release of every political prisoner, among whom are journalists, activists, religious figures, scientists, and ordinary citizens whose only “crime”  is supporting Ukraine. Among them are Bohdan Ziza, Iryna Danylovych, Halyna Dovhopola, Appaz Kurtamet, Osman Arifmemetov, and others.

“Parliaments play a crucial role in the liberation of Crimea. Your support today is a defense of the international order. I thank Sweden for supporting Ukraine and for hosting this summit. I thank everyone here today for standing firm in their position – that Crimea is Ukraine.”