In the Statement following the 20th EU-Ukraine Summit, Brussels, 9 July 2018, in its part 8 “Russia is a state –aggressor”. It is strongly condemned the clear violation of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity by acts of aggression by the Russian armed forces since February 2014. It is continued to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, holding of its elections in the illegally annexed peninsula and the deterioration of the Human Rights situation there, the building of the bridge in the Kerch Strait without Ukraine’s consent, the further militarisation of the Crimean peninsula as well as the Black and Azov Seas.

It is pointed out in the statement that EU would remain committed to fully implement its respective non-recognition policies, including through restrictive measures. The EU called on Russia to allow access of International Organisations and Human Rights actors to the areas currently not under the control of the Government of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, and to respect International Humanitarian Law. As well as EU called for the immediate release of all illegally detained and imprisoned Ukrainian citizens in the Crimean peninsula and in Russia, including Crimean Tatar activists as well as Oleg Sentsov, Volodymyr Balukh, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Stanislav Klykh, Oleksandr Shumkov and Roman Sushchenko. Ukraine presented its activities in international fora to address the impact of the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol.