MAIN TOPICS:

• The Ukrainian Armed Forces report that on the morning of July 29, the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully attacked the Chongar Bridge, which is located on the border between Kherson region and occupied Crimea.
• Political prisoners Nariman Dzhelal, Asan and Aziz Akhtemov were sentenced to toughened punishment in the case of “blowing up” a gas pipeline in the village of Perevalne. According to the announced decision, the occupation court left the terms of imprisonment unchanged and ordered the convicts to serve the first three years of their sentence in prison, and the subsequent ones – in a strict regime colony: https://cutt.ly/KwscLzco
• Near the building of the occupation court, during the consideration of the appeal in the case of Dzhelal and the Akhtemov brothers, 14 Crimean Tatars were detained who came to support the illegally persecuted activists. The detainees were taken to the occupation “railway district police department”, where protocols on “administrative offenses” were drawn up against 5 of them: https://cutt.ly/mwscL7Xf
• The occupiers continue to torture Ukrainian political prisoners Emir Usein-Kuku, Servet Gaziyev and Amet Suleymanov. The three men have serious health problems, and the conditions of their illegal detention threaten not only their health but also their lives: https://cutt.ly/lwsvT8sG

Crimes of occupation

• As of July 31, it is known that the occupiers in Crimea have illegally imprisoned 180 Ukrainian citizens. 117 of them are representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. Out of the total number of political prisoners, 24 are arrested, 138 are imprisoned, and 18 are without status.
• In the proceedings of the so-called “courts” on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, 432 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 were recorded. In 368 of these cases, a decision was made to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine, and in 12 cases the consideration of the materials is ongoing. In 35 cases, the materials were returned to the “body” that drew them up, and in 8 cases, the proceedings were terminated.
• The occupiers continue to illegally transfer Ukrainian citizens to the territory of the Russian Federation. Political prisoner Tofik Abdulgaziyev, who was illegally sentenced to 12 years in prison by the occupiers, was transferred to a prison in Verkhnouralsk, Chelyabinsk region of the Russian Federation; civil society activists and falsely accused of terrorist activities Izzet Abdullayev and Raim Aivazov were transferred to a prison in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region. https://cutt.ly/awsvrvld
• The occupation administration also continues to initiate illegal criminal cases against Ukrainian citizens. Thus, a resident of the occupied Crimea, Dmytro Kozli, received groundless accusations for allegedly repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. A resident of Yevpatoria, Suleymanova Feride, was also persecuted for refusing to put a tricolor ribbon on her child’s arm for the “first bell” at school.
• Through the territory of occupied Crimea, the occupiers are illegally transporting grain from the new harvest to be further transported to Russia. Open sources report queues of trucks near the Dzhankoy and Hvardiyske elevators.

Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula

• Sanatoriums and hotels in the occupied Crimea are becoming places for “rehabilitation” of participants in the war against Ukraine. The occupiers plan to launch a year-round program that will allegedly provide recreation and rehabilitation services for the Russian military. The occupiers do not publicize the fact that the number of graves of participants in the war against Ukraine has increased at the Abdal cemetery in Simferopol.
• Local residents of the occupied Crimea report a series of explosions that were heard last week in Krasnoperekopsk, Sevastopol and Yevpatoriya, and in Yalta, residents heard the sounds of airplanes. In general, the occupiers will have to deal with many more fires, detonations and explosions in the military and logistics structure until they liberate Ukrainian Crimea.
• Last week, law enforcement agencies held exercises in Armyansk and Feodosia.
• In the Kherson region, the occupiers again announce trains to Crimea: Genichesk-Novooleksiyivka-Dzhankoy. It is possible that the trains will serve as a human shield to cover equipment and ammunition. Open sources report seeing platforms with equipment adjacent to passenger trains.
• Open source intelligence has identified a large base of Russian military equipment 2.5 km east of Lake Kapchik on the Kerch Peninsula.
• Last Friday, the movement of military equipment along the Tavrida highway was recorded. The convoy was moving towards Simferopol, Feodosia junction. Other open sources report the movement of a large number of tilt-top trucks transporting military equipment in order to disperse the remains of large warehouses in smaller volumes throughout the occupied Crimea. Most likely, this is due to problems with railroad logistics in the direction of Kherson region, which arose due to UAVs hitting enemy ammunition depots.
• Partisans from the resistance movement recorded the criminal actions of the occupiers to set up their military bases near civilian facilities in Yalta, which could endanger residents.

Forced mobilization

• Residents of the occupied Crimea risk being prosecuted or forcibly mobilized into the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces. Men between the ages of 18 and 30 will be called up for military service, and the fine for failure to appear at the military registration and enlistment office will increase to 10-30 thousand rubles. These “bills” were passed by the State Duma in one day. Other “innovations” concern liability in the form of a fine for refusing to help the military enlistment office, a ban on conscripts leaving Russia and an increase in the period of arrest of suspects of committing a serious or especially serious crime in a pre-trial detention center to 30 days without charge.
• The Russian government has approved a new form of mobilization calls. Now the document for the mobilized will contain a reference to Putin’s decree, a reminder of criminal liability and a warning of punishment for failure to appear, a mention of a ban on leaving the country and “advice” on what to take with them to the war against Ukraine.
• The occupiers continue to launch new projects to militarize youth, forcing students of the occupied Crimea to participate in them. The latest “initiative” involves drone racing training. Young people are “taught” in four stages: first, they are given theoretical lessons, practice in the hall on small drones, and then during flights on large drones in specially designated places.
• According to the GUR, since the beginning of 2022, the aggressor state in the occupied territories of Ukraine has forcibly mobilized 55,000 to 60,000 men into its army. The occupiers caught people on the street, came to enterprises and forcibly took people away – they simply changed their clothes and sent them to the front line.
• We remind you of our guide on how to avoid illegal service in the aggressor’s army: https://cutt.ly/cwtipVM4.

Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hatred

• In the occupied Crimea, access to the Arabat Spit will be restricted from July 31. Only “employees” of emergency services will be able to get to the spit. The reason for the restriction is “a special order to avoid threats to the safety of the population.” In addition, the Arabat Spit is also used by the Russian military for additional logistics of military equipment and ammunition to the Kherson region, bypassing the territory of central and northern Crimea.
• The occupation administration continues to spread fake information to the residents of the occupied Crimea about gasoline prices, which are allegedly not rising and there is no shortage of fuel. Despite this, local residents continue to record a completely different situation that does not correspond to the occupiers’ “monitoring findings”.
• The occupiers do not stop committing criminal acts to destroy the historical and cultural monuments of Crimea. This time, the so-called “architectural council” has targeted the Inkerman factory of vintage wines, Victory Park, Lazur boarding house and other places in Sevastopol that the occupation administration plans to “rebuild”.
• The occupiers’ panic over the incident on the illegal “Crimean bridge” on July 17 has not subsided: a “criminal case” has already been opened on the “terrorist attack”, a fence has been erected around the bridge from marine drones, and a number of “examinations” have been ordered, including an explosive one. The occupiers also continue to “warn” residents that the danger of “attacks” on the illegal “Crimean bridge” remains, and the situation requires constant high alert.
• Enemies are everywhere. The occupiers cannot calm down and are panicking and checking everything that moves in order to find evidence of the “undermining” of the illegal “Crimean bridge”. For example, another foreign bulk carrier en route from the Turkish Synod to Rostov was banned from passing through the Kerch Strait.
• The occupation administration is so afraid of the Ukrainian army’s offensive that it cannot decide on the date of the so-called Yalta Economic Forum and postpones the “event” to a later date. The reason for the postponement is allegedly unknown.
• The invaders are doing their best to demonstrate to the local population their “attention” to the issue of “development” of tourism, sports, scientific and educational spheres of Sevastopol. The latest promises include increased payments to SMEs, the construction of new dormitories for students, and the reconstruction of the field at the Sevastopol Sports Complex stadium.
• The groundless accusations of Ukraine in all the occupiers’ troubles do not end there. Last week, the occupation administration “refuted” the information about the evacuation of “representatives” of the occupation administration to the Krasnodar region, saying that it was “a Ukrainian-planned IPSO”.
• The occupiers continue to influence the minds of young people in the occupied Crimea by involving them in the so-called “patriotic education” process, which should become part of the work of the occupation fund “Defenders of the Fatherland”. In addition, the “foundation” is responsible for other propaganda initiatives, including the installation of memorial plaques to participants in the war against Ukraine and the renaming of at least 20 streets after members of the “svoya”.
• Starting September 1, 2023, military training lessons will be taught in schools in the occupied territories. For this purpose, the occupiers have purchased “adult victim mannequins”, models of grenades and Kalashnikov rifles for a total of more than 20 million rubles. Almost as much was spent on propaganda symbols such as flags, table flags, and coats of arms.
• Open sources published a photo of an online children’s clothing store in Yevpatoria. It sells camouflage outerwear and camouflage costumes for teenagers. Also in the occupied Crimea, parents of schoolchildren are told that on September 1, children should look as “patriotic” as possible by wearing elements of the Russian tricolor.
• The Russian government has been instructed to ensure the opening of branches of the Artek International Children’s Center, which was illegally appropriated by the occupiers, in 2023. One of them will be located in Sevastopol and Berdiansk.
• The occupation administration has illegally “appropriated” the apartment of the First Lady, the wife of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Yalta, “nationalizing” it. Earlier, the occupiers reported that they planned to start “selling at auction” illegally “nationalized” properties owned by Ukrainian citizens.

Publications of the occupation media

• A selection of Russian propaganda narratives this week: “the Kyiv regime, like any terrorists, is far from all moral principles”, “NATO controls the Kyiv regime”, “the Armed Forces of Ukraine are NATO’s PMC”, “no one is waiting for Ukraine in NATO”, “the OCU is a raider organization that seizes Orthodox churches and shrines”, “Ukrainians are biomass, an ethnic chimera, a suicide bomber”, “Russians are the heirs of Prince Vladimir, who baptized Rus”.

Public sentiment

• The occupiers have a new occupation – eliminating drones at the place of detection. Last week, several of them were spotted near the railroad tracks between Dzhankoy and Bohemka and in the Saki district.
• Residents of the occupied Crimea continue to express their dissatisfaction with the actions of the occupation administration. Thus, a Russian language teacher from Feodosia tried to set fire to the occupation military enlistment office by throwing a bottle of Molotov cocktail into the building. Unfortunately, the bottle did not reach the building, but broke and burst into flames on the asphalt. The woman was detained and a criminal case was opened against her. This is not the first attempt to set fire to the occupation military enlistment office. Earlier, a 63-year-old man broke a bottle with an incendiary mixture in occupied Sevastopol near the military commandant’s building.
• The Crimean fighting seagulls continue to be active, successfully developing the Crimean cotton season. This weekend it was restless in the Dzhankoy district and Sevastopol with the participation of the CBGs. The occupiers continue to keep silent about these facts out of fear.
• Last week, Yellow Ribbon activists were also effective in demonstrating resistance to the occupiers: they placed blue and yellow elements in Yalta, glued patriotic posters and painted graffiti in the colors of freedom. And the partisans of the “Zlaya Mavka” movement planted money with pro-Ukrainian messages, which made the occupiers very nervous.
• 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 the temporarily occupied Crimea: https://cutt.ly/FwtiajlS

We thank the conscious Ukrainian citizens in the occupied Crimea for promptly reporting on the situation on the Crimean peninsula, in particular on the socio-economic situation, the movement of Russian troops, the movement of resistance to the occupation, etc.

For more information, please send an e-mail to the Mission’s Information Department: [email protected]

Glory to Ukraine!