The visit started with a meeting at the Mission’s Kherson Office after a discussion about the current situation of human rights in the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula, the delegation went to visit the checkpoints «Kalanchak» and «Chaplinka», located at the administrative border between Kherson Oblast and Crimea.In the evening, a meeting is expected in the Kherson Oblast State Administration with representatives of State bodies, public organizations and initiatives working in the Crimean direction.
“Every visit to the administrative boundary line between the Kherson Oblast and the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimean Republic is special for us. It is not only an important strategic facility where the passage of our citizens is carried out, but also a place where the Crimean people meet the Ukrainian flag and where it is evident that the State’s approach to the care of its own citizens who have become hostages of the occupation has changed. Such attention is particularly important at a time when a genuine humanitarian crisis is looming in Crimea because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the violation by the occupying State, the Russian Federation, of its obligations to protect civilians, including medical care.
It is also important for us to show reality to our reliable international partners, like Britain.The United Kingdom was among the first countries to respond to the attempted annexation and has consistently supported Ukraine on the international stage in the struggle for the de-occupation of Crimea.The Mission thanks the British Embassy Kyiv for its important gesture of support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
It is also important for the Mission’s Team to inform its partners about the current situation in Crimea, which is characterized by respect for human rights and violation of the norms of international law, persecution of members of the Ukrainian community and the indigenous Crimean Tatar People by the Russian Federation and its occupation administrations.
We invite diplomatic representatives of other countries to visit Kherson region, in particular the checkpoints “Kalanchak” and “Chsplynka” at the administrative boundary line and we are always ready to help in arrangement of such visits “- The Permanent Representative comments on the visit of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom to Ukraine Melinda Simmons to the checkpoints «Kalanchak» and «Chaplinka».
The Leadership Mission’s Team is thankful to Kherson boarder guard detachment of the State Boarder Guard Service of Ukraine for ongoing cooperation and assistance in the arrangements and assistance during the visit