Main news of the week:
▶ Crimean Tatar political prisoner Ametkhan Abdulvapov informed his lawyer that he lacks the necessary medication for treatment after recently suffering a stroke while in Russian detention. According to him, he is forced to endure severe heart pain, as the prison medical service does not have the appropriate drugs. Due to a shortage of medicine in the colony, a medical worker gave him a handwritten list of required medications, and Abdulvapov asked his wife to send them by mail.
Invaders’ crimes:
▶ As of July 28, the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 220 individuals, including 133 Crimean Tatars.
▶ As of July 28, 2025, there were 1472 cases of materials compiled under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. In 1340 cases, decisions were made to impose fines or combine cases with cumulative decisions. In 55 cases, proceedings are still ongoing. In 51% of the decisions (683), women are involved, and in 49%(656), men are involved.
▶ Crimean Tatar Abibulla Smedliaev, who is being unlawfully held by the occupying administration in Pre-trial Detention Center No. 2 in Simferopol, is reporting a serious deterioration in his eyesight. Even before his arrest, he had eye problems and had been prescribed glasses by a doctor. However, during a search, his glasses were broken, and it has not been possible to replace them — an eye examination is required, which is hardly feasible in detention. He is being denied medical assistance, access to medication, or even eye drops, and visits with his family are severely restricted.
▶ Lenur Khalilov, an imam from Alushta and one of the defendants in the so-called “Alushta group” case, has been held since February 2024 in Penal Colony No. 1 in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region. According to the political prisoner’s wife, shortly after his unlawful transfer to Arkhangelsk, he was hospitalized in the prison medical facility, where he remained for over six months. His lawyer is currently working to clarify the diagnosis and the state of his health.
▶ Political prisoner Iryna Horobtsova, sentenced by an occupation “court” in Kherson to 10.5 years of imprisonment, has been transferred to Women’s Penal Colony No. 2 in the settlement of Yavas, Republic of Mordovia. The activist was abducted by the occupying forces in Kherson in May 2022 and taken to occupied Crimea, where she was held for an extended period. She has a diagnosed brain aneurysm and has reported deteriorating health and a lack of medical care.
▶ The occupation administration in Crimea has put the seized Lvivskyi Zaliznychnyk resort in Sudak up for auction. After 2014, it was renamed “Crimean Spring.” The facility is located in a protected area near the Genoese Fortress. Before the occupation of the peninsula, the resort belonged to JSC Ukrzaliznytsia and was one of the city’s key recreational facilities. According to civil observers, camps run by this structure have also housed children forcibly taken from temporarily occupied territories in southern Ukraine.
▶ Crimean political prisoner Vadym Siruk, part of the so-called “Yalta group,” has reported serious dental health issues and the lack of appropriate medical care. There is no dentist at the Russian penal colony, so he is not receiving the necessary treatment. In nine years of imprisonment, he has received medical care only once. He is currently experiencing severe dental problems, including inflammation and the need for extractions. Despite repeated appeals, the administration has taken no action. His overall health condition is stable.
Forcible conscription:
▶ At least 2031 Russian servicemen from units stationed in Crimea have been killed. Of these, 1306 are likely Ukrainian citizens.
▶ It has been confirmed that at least 119 Russian servicemen from Crimea have been taken prisoner. Most of them are likely to be Ukrainian citizens.
Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula:
▶ Activists from the resistance movement ATESH reported the deployment of a field hospital at the location of the 810th Marine Brigade in temporarily occupied Sevastopol. According to their information, some of the equipment and personnel are undergoing recovery, and due to a shortage of suitable medical facilities, a field hospital has been set up on-site to treat the wounded. Additionally, the activists noted that in Sevastopol, the command of Russia’s 12th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment has relocated personnel and equipment out of fear of strikes by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Most troops were withdrawn from the base, and equipment — including S-400 air defense systems — was moved to shelters. Only those on combat duty remain on-site.
▶ In temporarily occupied Crimea, the fourth session of field training camps for pre-conscription youth has begun. At the base of the “voluntary society for assistance to the army, aviation, and navy of Russia” in Simferopol, children aged 10 to 17 — including cadet class students and members of military-patriotic clubs — are being taught the basics of military training. According to reports, the instructors include participants in Russia’s war against Ukraine. The program covers tactical firearms training, medical and drill instruction, mountain training, as well as topography lessons.
Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hostility:
▶ In the territories of Yedykuy, Kurman, Bilohirsk, Saky, and Bakhchysarai districts of the temporarily occupied peninsula, so-called “exploration works” are being conducted to identify new deposits of salt, bentonite clays, boron ores, iodine, raw materials for the cement and chemical industries, as well as construction stone. The occupying regime in Crimea continues to deplete and exploit the peninsula’s resource potential.
▶ In cities across occupied Crimea, there are increasing attempts to identify students deemed disloyal to the Russian Federation. Institutions of higher education are conducting so-called “anonymous” surveys to gauge attitudes toward Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. These actions bear signs of covert data collection and pose potential risks for students. Many are concerned about the consequences of participating in such “surveys” and fear persecution for expressing disloyalty to the actions of the occupying administration.
Civil Resistance:
▶ A resident of occupied Crimea allegedly provided Ukrainian intelligence in 2022 with locations of Russian military facilities on the peninsula, including an oil depot, units of the Russian National Guard, and Ministry of Defense sites. The occupation “court” issued an illegal sentence, sentencing him to 13 years in a maximum-security penal colony, followed by 1 year and 10 months of restricted freedom.
▶ A resident of occupied Sevastopol posted comments on social media calling for the elimination of the so-called Russian president, strikes on the “Crimean Bridge,” and similar actions. Occupation forces detained the man and unlawfully initiated a criminal case against him under the article on public calls for terrorist acts, punishable by up to seven years in prison.
▶ Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement distributed patriotic leaflets and yellow ribbons in Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, and Koktebel. They also report an increase in actions by the Russian police in messengers and social networks. Occupation forces are trying to identify local chats with pro-Ukrainian sentiments or criticism of the occupation administration. To do this, they use fake accounts, subscribe to channels, join groups and chats, and collect information about participants. Additionally, activists report a wave of so-called “raids” by Russian law enforcement on local businesses throughout Crimea — shops, service stations, salons, and workshops. The official grounds for inspections are documents and permits. Still, according to the movement, the real goal is extortion: entrepreneurs are forced either to pay cash or to close their establishments “until circumstances are clarified.”
▶ Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
▶ Female activists of the Zla Mavka resistance movement distributed posters and stickers with the slogan “Ukraine is Always Here” in occupied Alushta.
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!