Main news of the week:
▶ Ukraine has managed to return from Russian captivity Nariman Dzhelial, the First Deputy of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. He was illegally detained by the occupiers and sentenced to 17 years in prison in 2021 after the Inaugural Summit of the Crimea Platform.
Crimes of the occupation:
▶ As of July 1, the occupiers illegally imprisoned 217 people, including 132 Crimean Tatars. Of the total number, 39 are arrested (including 28 Crimean Tatars), 149 are imprisoned (including 97 Crimean Tatars), and 28 are without status (including 6 Crimean Tatars).
▶ As of the beginning of July, 847 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation were recorded in the so-called “courts” in temporarily occupied Crimea. In June, the occupiers unlawfully prosecuted at least 22 people for pro-Ukrainian statements and activity.
▶ A 26-year-old Sevastopol resident urged his friends on social media to join one of the clandestine resistance movements operating in occupied Crimea. The man was detained by security forces and faces eight to fifteen years of unlawful confinement with a fine or life imprisonment.
▶ The occupation “court” illegally sentenced a resident of the Saky region to 12 years in a strict regime colony for allegedly recording a video of the operation of an enemy air defense complex in August 2022, commenting on its location, and passing this data to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
▶ Eskender Abdulhaniiev, illegally convicted in the “case of Crimean Muslims”, has been held for five months in the punishment isolator of penal colony No. 41 in the Kemerovo region of the Russian Federation, and the terms of his illegal detention are constantly being extended. The prison commission unreasonably called the man a “persistent offender, prone to constant violations”. He was put on the disciplinary list and announced that he would be subjected to strict conditions of detention.
▶ The occupation “court” has illegally convicted Emine Zekeriaieva in the case of “failure to report a crime”—over a seven-year-old correspondence on the VKontakte social network—and imposed a fine of 50 thousand rubles. Emine pleaded not guilty. At the same time, the lawyer pointed out several violations during the pre-trial and trial “investigation”, which the occupation “court” ignored. Emine has two minor children.
Forced mobilization:
▶ At least 839 Russian army soldiers were buried. 647 of them were probably Ukrainian citizens. The number of burials may be higher, as many of them take place without coverage.
▶ The capture of at least 46 servicemen of the Russian Federation from occupied Crimea has been confirmed, most of whom are likely to be Ukrainian citizens.
Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula:
▶ Activists in occupied Crimea report that the occupiers are carrying out construction work at the former military airfield in Baherove near Kerch. Currently, caponiers have been dug, and the top layer of soil has been removed in some places. Protective earthen ramparts are visible on the territory of future military equipment parking lots. Apparently, helicopters will be stationed there. Construction equipment is also visible in the satellite images.
▶ The booms that were torn down by the storm last year were washed up on the city beach in Kerch. In addition, defensive structures have been built near the illegally constructed “Kerch Bridge” for three weeks. The occupiers bring in a lot of stone and set piles.
▶ Activists of the ATESH resistance movement discovered a warehouse and parking lot for Russian military equipment near Hvardiiske. The activists also tracked down the occupiers’ logistical routes for the transfer of military equipment to the front. The schedule of the enemy’s equipment transfer and coordinates were passed on to the relevant Ukrainian services. In addition, ATESH reports that representatives of the National Guard of the Russian Federation come to residents’ workplaces and offer cooperation, namely to provide information about people who, in their opinion, make “data breaches” about Russian security forces to Ukrainian structures. Also, the number of surveillance cameras along the coast has increased in Yevpatoriia, due to the constant publication of photos of fortifications online. In addition, ATESH discovered a secret service station for the occupiers’ equipment in Sevastopol, and the occupiers continued to hide behind civilian infrastructure. The activists also investigated the Sevastopol naval complex for the storage and deployment of missiles and ammunition and discovered the location of numerous enemy weapons, military equipment, S-400 systems, and a radar station on Cape Fiolent. The coordinates were provided to Ukrainian special services.
▶ On June 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30, the Russian Black Sea Fleet trained anti-submarine warfare units in the area of the Northern and Southern Breakwaters, as well as Striletska, Komyshova and Ocheretiana Bays, using various types of small arms.
Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hostility:
▶ The Association of Tour Operators of Russia has reported a 15-20% decrease in sales of tours to Crimea. According to the data, the number of canceled accommodation reservations in Sevastopol for the period from June 23 to June 28 increased by 78%, in Crimea by 28%, and in Dagestan by 7%. At the same time, the occupation administration claims an unprecedented influx of tourists to occupied Crimea.
Publications of the occupation media:
This week’s Russian propaganda narratives, publicly disseminated by “representatives” of the occupation administration in Crimea:
▶ The so-called “representative” of the occupation administration said that “people who were injured during the downing of a missile in Sevastopol were taken to Moscow by a special board of the Ministry of Emergency Situations”. This message indicates a decline in the level of medicine on the occupied peninsula, where due to the lack of qualified personnel and the reorientation of the medical sector to the needs of the occupation troops, civilians cannot be helped.
▶ The occupiers are once again threatening Western countries and the United States over the supply of Western precision-guided munitions to Ukraine, saying that “the attack in Sevastopol will not go unanswered by Russia. The West should feel the risks associated with such things.”
Public attitudes:
▶ A man from the occupied village of Tsvitochne in Bilohirsk region supported Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine on social media and criticized the occupiers. He was detained, the materials of his “case” were sent to the “court”. The man was forced to apologize on camera.
▶ A resident of Crimea published posts on social media in support of Ukraine, the Armed Forces, and Ukrainian national symbols. During his illegal detention by the occupiers, the occupiers found flags of Ukraine and patriotic symbols on his property. The materials of the “case” were sent to the “court.”
▶ A resident of Alushta spoke out in a shop against the occupation of Crimea and the Russian occupiers. The occupation “court” unlawfully imposed a sentence of 15 days of arrest and a fine of 30 thousand rubles.
▶ A resident of the village of Soniachna Dolyna, Sudak region, expressed on her social media waiting for the liberation of Crimea, supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and wishing for Ukraine’s victory. The occupiers drew up an administrative “protocol” to allegedly “discredit the Russian Armed Forces” and sent the materials to the “court”.
▶ The occupiers in Crimea complain that residents of occupied Armiansk pour red paint on cars with Russian symbols and “Z” symbols as a sign of condemnation.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to resist the occupiers in Crimea, destroying copies of propaganda materials and distributing patriotic symbols in the occupied cities on the peninsula, including Simferopol, Sevastopol, and Yevpatoriia. Activists report that Crimea is the largest region of resistance, with more than 5,000 movement members. Also, as part of the “This is Ukraine” flash mob, activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement raised the Ukrainian flag on the top of the Canakai Qır Mountain, also known as the Petrivski Cliffs.
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
▶ The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to publish its diaries and a weekly newspaper, which reveals the crimes of the occupiers. The activists also distributed patriotic leaflets in occupied Simferopol with the inscriptions “Soon we will be home again” and “Simferopol is Ukraine”.
The Mission continues to receive inquiries from Ukrainian citizens who want to leave Crimea because they cannot tolerate the occupation and total propaganda. We remind you of our instructions on how to leave temporarily occupied Crimea: https://cutt.ly/FwtiajlS
We thank the aware Ukrainian citizens in occupied Crimea for their prompt reports on the situation on the Crimean Peninsula, in particular on the socio-economic situation, the positions of Russian troops, the resistance movements to the occupation, etc. For more information, please send an e-mail to the press service of the Mission: [email protected]
Glory to Ukraine!