Main news of the week:
▶ According to open-source information, explosions were reported in Yevpatoriia and Saky in temporarily occupied Crimea on the morning of January 25.
Invaders’ crimes:
▶ As of January 20, the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 218 individuals, including 132 Crimean Tatars. Of these, 43 are under arrest (28 Crimean Tatars), 151 are imprisoned (97 Crimean Tatars), and 26 are held without status (6 Crimean Tatars).
▶ 1139 cases were filed under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation in so-called “courts” in occupied Crimea. In 1022 cases, administrative fines or combined rulings were issued. Proceedings continue in 20 cases.
▶ The health condition of Crimean political prisoner Rustem Huhuryk, unlawfully sentenced to 8.5 years in a high-security colony and currently held at the colony in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, continues to deteriorate rapidly. He has lost hearing in his left ear and suffers from severe shortness of breath. However, the colony administration provides only minimal medical assistance in the form of blood-thinning tablets and obstructs the receipt of parcels from his family.
▶ Crimean activist Oleksandr Sizikov, unlawfully sentenced to 17 years in a high-security colony despite being visually impaired, is in the process of being transferred from Crimea to Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Krai following his sentencing. During a stop in Perm, Sizikov and other prisoners were forced to spend the night in a train car as the administration refused to admit them to the facility.
▶ At Correctional Colony No. 2 in the Republic of Bashkortostan, the colony administration has begun confiscating all copies of the Quran in Arabic from Muslim prisoners. Among those affected is political prisoner Vadym Siruk, who was unlawfully sentenced to 12 years in a high-security colony, and his Quran was also confiscated.
▶ Crimean Tatar Appaz Kurtamet, unlawfully sentenced to 7 years in a high-security colony and held in a colony in the village of Sosnovy Bor, Pskov region, Russia, was granted a phone call and spoke with his family.
▶ Seiran Khairedinov, unlawfully sentenced to 12 years in a high-security colony, has been transferred to Prison No. 2 in Vladimir, Russia. During the transfer, his allergy symptoms worsened due to stress, and he also contracted an acute respiratory viral infection.
▶ Crimean Tatar Edem Smailov, unlawfully sentenced to 13 years in a high-security colony, was transferred from the colony in Kostroma region, Russia, to Colony No 1.
▶ The case of unlawfully detained Crimean civic activist Volodymyr Ananiev has been sent for trial in a court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. The activist is suffering from high blood pressure, spinal problems, and hernias. Previously, he underwent eye surgery for glaucoma in one of his eyes.
▶ An occupation “court” has sentenced 56-year-old Yalta resident Vitalii Khomenko in absentia to 18 years in a colony for allegedly participating in Ukraine’s Armed Forces and fighting against occupying troops.
▶ Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has been ignoring court rulings for over a year regarding the transfer of Crimean political prisoner Arsen Abkhaierov, unlawfully sentenced to 13 years, closer to his home. In December 2022, a Moscow court deemed FSIN’s refusal unlawful and ordered a reconsideration of the request, but the service has not complied. Abkhaierov remains in Colony No 8 in Ulan-Ude, Republic of Buryatia, Russia—7,000 kilometers from his native Crimea. In September 2024, an “occupation court” in Crimea again ruled FSIN’s refusal unjustified, but the political prisoner’s appeal has yet to be addressed.
Forcible conscription:
▶ At least 1,709 Russian soldiers from units based in occupied Crimea have been killed, 1,140 of whom were likely Ukrainian citizens. The actual number of casualties is believed to be higher as Russia conceals actual losses.
▶ At least 110 servicemen from occupied Crimea, most likely Ukrainian citizens, have been confirmed as captured.
Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula:
▶ Agents of the ATESH movement continue to monitor the activity of the occupiers in Crimea. In Yevpatoriia, at the Zdravnytsia sanatorium, the presence of Russian occupation forces has been documented, concealed within civilian infrastructure. Military equipment, firing positions, and ammunition have been deployed on the sanatorium grounds. Additional fortifications, including defensive structures and firing points, have been established along the coastline. Agents also conducted reconnaissance of fortifications on beaches near the city, where bunkers, trenches, and personnel placements of the occupiers were observed. Access to the beaches has been blocked, and the sites are under guard.
▶ According to open-source information, Russian military forces are actively constructing fortifications at the Belbek airfield near Sevastopol.
Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hostility:
▶ In Crimea, the occupiers are establishing “cadet classes” in schools with Crimean Tatar as the language of instruction, aiming to spread Russian militarist ideology among children, impose Russian identity, and promote the “legitimacy” of the aggressive war against Ukraine. At the same time, the occupation administration in these schools has begun prohibiting the use of Crimean Tatar national symbols, including flags and the tamga, as well as the performance or inclusion of the Crimean Tatar anthem at official events such as school assemblies. Additionally, the occupiers have banned commemorative events marking the Day of Deportation of the Crimean Tatar People.
▶ In occupied Crimea, filming has concluded for the Tsenturiia propaganda series, which is dedicated to the “fight of Russian special services against youth extremism in Mariupol” and the “integration of its residents into Russian society.” The series is set in the destroyed and Russian-occupied Mariupol, with the plot portraying the activities of Russia’s FSB in “neutralizing the Ukrainian underground.” Filming took place in Sudak and in Mariupol itself.
Civil Resistance:
▶ The occupiers detained and fined 23-year-old Tymur Hulakov, a resident of Bilohlynka village in Simferopol district, 50,000 rubles for social media comments in which he criticized the actions of the occupation administration.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to resist Russia’s occupation of Crimea, urging residents of the peninsula to engage in nonviolent resistance by spreading Ukrainian symbols, creating patriotic graffiti, organizing flash mobs, and destroying propaganda materials. On Ukraine’s Unity Day, they held pro-Ukrainian actions in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, Yevpatoriia, Kerch, Alushta, and Armiansk. Despite the risk of persecution, they carry out informational campaigns, inspiring others to fight for Crimea’s liberation and reminding them of its inseparable connection to Ukraine.
▶ Members of the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement face daily risks to their safety as they resist the occupiers by exposing collaborators and war criminals on the temporarily occupied peninsula. Their work includes collecting and transmitting critical information about locations, movements, financial operations, and connections of individuals tied to the occupation administration. They organize acts of civil resistance, distribute leaflets with Ukrainian symbols, document human rights violations, and expose corruption within the structures of the occupation administrations.
▶ Activists of the Zla Mavka movement tirelessly defend rights and freedoms on the temporarily occupied Crimean Peninsula, turning its cities and villages into symbols of resistance. They create patriotic graffiti and distribute stickers and leaflets that evoke hope and pride by highlighting the strength of the Ukrainian spirit. Their actions undermine the illusion of the occupiers’ omnipotence, expose the manipulations of Russian propaganda, and draw attention to systematic human rights violations.
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!