Main news of the week:

▶ On 1 April 2025, Russian occupiers conducted another round of mass raids on the homes of Crimean Tatars in the village of Zemlianychne, Bilohirsk district. Armed officers stormed at least four residences, claiming to be “searching for weapons and prohibited materials.” One of the affected families was that of Hulsum Khalilova, a Crimean Tatar journalist with ATR TV channel. Despite the critical health condition of 75-year-old Khalil Khalilov, the occupiers carried out a thorough search and confiscated electronic devices. Due to the stress he experienced, his condition worsened, and he had to be urgently hospitalized.

Invaders’ crimes:

▶ As of April 7, the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 224 individuals, including 137 Crimean Tatars. 

▶ As of 21 March 2025, 1,279 cases were filed under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation in so-called “courts” in occupied Crimea. In 1,156 cases, decisions were made to impose fines or to combine the cases with others, resulting in consolidated rulings. In 22 cases, proceedings are still ongoing. Of all decisions issued, 561 (49%) concerned women, while 593 (51%) involved men.

▶ Lera Dzhemilova, who was abducted by Russian occupying forces in May 2024 and whose whereabouts remained unknown, was held in complete isolation in a Simferopol pre-trial detention centre.

▶ Volodymyr Bodnar, unlawfully accused by the occupation administration of plotting an assassination attempt against the so-called “head of Crimea” — collaborator Serhii Aksionov — was forced to plead guilty during a hearing in an occupation “court.” The case is currently under consideration.

▶ An occupation “court” sentenced a resident of Yalta to 5 years and 25 days of imprisonment on fabricated charges of alleged cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence and providing the locations of occupying troops.

▶ Crimean political prisoner Ruslan Mesutov, unlawfully sentenced to 18 years in a high-security penal colony, was prematurely transferred from a hospital near Yakutsk to a solitary confinement unit despite serious health issues. His treatment was limited to basic pills, his family was unable to deliver medication, and Mesutov reported preparations for another transfer to a different colony.

▶ The so-called “court” of the occupation administration extended the unlawful pre-trial detention until 4 July 2025 for members of the so-called “fourth Dzhankoi group in the case of Crimean Muslims” — Abibulla Smedliaiev, Bakhtiiar Ablaiev, Rustem Mustafaiev, Mirzali Tazhibaiev, and Emir Kurtnezirov. Three of the defendants were forcibly subjected to forensic psychiatric examinations by the occupiers.

▶ In Russia, court proceedings have begun in a lawsuit filed by Crimean political prisoner Server Zekiriaiev against the colony administration over inhumane conditions of detention in a high-security solitary confinement unit (the most severe form of punishment). He reports gas emissions from the sewage system causing nausea and suffocation, as well as his baseless inclusion on a list of “escape risks.” Zekiriaiev had previously reported torture.

▶ On 3 April, in temporarily occupied Crimea, so-called representatives of the occupation “police” raided the home of Anna Bohachova, the wife of political prisoner Vadym Siruk. After entering the premises, the officers began questioning her about Siruk’s prison term, case, and family relations. They then turned to personal questions, asking who she hosts at home and whether she was connected to the recent arson attack on the grave of a war correspondent for the Russian outlet Izvestia, Oleksandr Fedorchak. The occupiers threatened her with house searches, revocation of her driving licence, and even “being forced to leave the area.”

Militarization of the Crimean Peninsula:

▶ Activists of the ATESH resistance movement continue gathering intelligence on Russian military facilities and conducting sabotage operations. They report that the occupiers are transferring electronic warfare systems, including the Pole-21 system and air defense systems, from Crimea to the Kherson region.

▶ Local activists have identified the location and duty schedules of the occupiers’ Pantsir-S1 air defense systems near Sevastopol.

Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hostility:

▶ In Chersonesus, artifacts looted from the Kamiana Mohyla Reserve in occupied Mariupol—illegally annexed to the Tauric Chersonesus—are being exhibited again. The collection has been entered into the official Russian state catalog.

▶ The occupation administration in Crimea is sending students to combat zones under the guise of so-called “humanitarian missions,” endangering their lives and health. Over the past two and a half years, at least ten such trips have taken place to the occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions, as well as to Russia’s Kursk and Belhorod regions.

▶ The occupation administration is opening sports sections for veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine using the facilities of Paralympic schools in Simferopol, Yevpatoriia, and Feodosiia. These programs include swimming, shooting, athletics, and powerlifting but are exclusively available to Russian occupying forces, while local residents, including people with disabilities, are barred from participation.

Forcible conscription:

▶ At least 1907 Russian soldiers from units based in occupied Crimea have been killed, 1280 of whom were likely Ukrainian citizens. The actual number of casualties is believed to be higher as Russia conceals actual losses.

▶ At least 116 servicemen from occupied Crimea, most likely Ukrainian citizens, have been confirmed as captured.

Civil Resistance:

​​▶ Crimean Tatar woman Susanna Ismailova openly expressed her pro-Ukrainian stance on social media. At the end of March, Russian occupation forces conducted an unlawful search in the village of Sofiivka in Simferopol district, illegally detained her, and transported her to an unknown location. It was later revealed that an occupation “court” fined her 50,000 rubles.

▶ A 30-year-old resident of Sevastopol was detained by the occupation authorities after he posted critical comments about the occupiers on social media. His case has been forwarded to the so-called “court.”

▶ A 21-year-old resident of Crimea was detained by occupation forces for expressing criticism of the occupying troops and the Russian occupation of Crimea on social media. An administrative offense report was unlawfully filed against him, and his case was referred to an occupation “court.”

▶ A resident of the Kurman district publicly criticized the actions of Russian occupation forces and spoke out against a neighbor whose husband was fighting for the occupying army. The man was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest and fined 40,000 rubles.

▶ Activists from the Yellow Ribbon resistance movement carried out acts of civil disobedience in Yalta, Yevpatoriia, Sevastopol, Sudak, and Simferopol. According to activists, in temporarily occupied Yalta, café, and bar owners were instructed by the so-called occupation “department of culture” to include Russian “patriotic songs” — such as those by Oleg Gazmanov, SHAMAN, and the band LUBE — in their music playlists. The occupation administration warned that inspections would be conducted closer to the tourist season and demanded that “patriotic music” be played at least once every half hour.

▶ Activists from Zla Mavka distributed over 100 patriotic stickers in Simferopol, including slogans such as “Crimea is Ukraine,” “Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” and quotes by Shevchenko and Kostenko.

▶ Members of the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement continue to spread Ukrainian symbols, stickers, and leaflets, carry out informational resistance, and document 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!