On 9 April, the NATO Headquarters hosted the meeting of the Political Committee of the NATO-Ukraine Council, dedicated to a comprehensive review of the security, humanitarian, and legal situation in temporarily occupied Crimea. The meeting was attended by Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko and Head of the Crimea Platform Department Nelia Hrynyshyn.

Olha Kuryshko presented an analytical report prepared by the Mission, which systematises Ukraine’s experience in countering Russian hybrid aggression and offers a set of practical recommendations for states seeking to be ready to defend their sovereignty. The document reveals the stages of the Russian occupation model — from preparation through informational and economic operations to physical seizure, stabilisation of control, and integration of the seized territories into Russian space.

“In Ukraine, Russia has implemented a full cycle of hybrid aggression — from preparatory informational and economic operations to attempted illegal annexations of large territories and their subsequent use, including the population, for the occupation of new regions. It was Crimea where Russia has been testing its occupation model since 2014, which it later expanded to other territories”, the Permanent Representative noted.

Also during the meeting, Olha Kuryshko spoke about the current situation in temporarily occupied Crimea: the total militarisation of the peninsula, the indoctrination of children and youth, human rights violations, the persecution of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar people, and the destruction of cultural heritage by the occupiers. In addition, O.Kuryshko emphasised on Ukraine’s strategic decisions and reintegration policies on Crimea following its de-occupation.

You can read the analytical report via the link: https://cutt.ly/XtFdx2FV

The Mission expresses its gratitude to the Mission of Ukraine to NATO, in particular to the Head of the Mission Ms. Alyona Getmanchuk for organising the thematic meeting and drawing international partners’ attention to the topic of Crimea. We are grateful to our international partners for their unwavering and consistent support of our state.