The national flag of the Crimean Tatars was raised on flagpoles near the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, along with the state flag. The ceremony was attended by the Permanent Representative Tamila Tasheva, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev and the Chairman of the Mejlis Refat Chubarov.

“The occupiers are trying to delay their escape from Crimea with terrorist attacks, but this will not help them – this flag, along with the state flag, will return to its homeland. I know that a lot of people on the peninsula, like the entire indigenous people of the Crimea, are looking forward to the arrival of our troops. But waiting is not enough. Years will pass, and our children will ask us “what did you do to liberate your homeland from the occupier”. And it is very important that we do not feel ashamed to answer them,” Mr. Dzhemilev addressed his fellow citizens in the still occupied territory.

Refat Chubarov read out lines from a letter of the First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis Nariman Dzhelal, illegally imprisoned by the occupiers to 17 years in a strict regime colony: “If the Crimean Tatars want to remain subjective, to determine the vector of development of their future with their own traditions and values, then the need to choose a flag – that is, the prospect of choice – is obvious. And for me, this choice is simple and clear. The colors of the Crimean Tatar flag give a clear answer: the long and complicated history of relations between Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, joint efforts in the formation of the modern Ukrainian state and, of course, the commonality of values, goals and ways to achieve them make this choice obvious.”