The Permanent Representative, Olha Kuryshko, held a meeting with Mariana Tomyn, Head of the National Project Side by Side: United Communities. The meeting was also joined by Denys Chystikov, Deputy Permanent Representative, and Liudmyla Shevchuk, Deputy Head of the Department for De-occupation and Reintegration of the Mission.

The Permanent Representative provided an overview of the strategic initiatives of the Mission in the context of shaping state policy regarding all temporarily occupied territories. In this context, the parties discussed potential areas of cooperation within the framework of the Side by Side: United Communities project.

The Permanent Representative also highlighted the Strategy for the Cognitive De-occupation, emphasizing that cognitive de-occupation is a nationwide process that can be applied not only to Crimea but to the entirety of Ukraine. The issue of memorialization is considered an integral part of this strategy.

The meeting participants addressed the issue of honoring the memory of service members from Crimea who died defending Ukraine. It was emphasized that Crimeans are part of territorial communities, and remembrance of them should be integrated into public space. Currently, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance plays a key role in shaping state policy on commemoration by developing conceptual approaches and methodological guidelines for the forms and content of commemorative practices, as well as participating in the drafting of legislative initiatives aimed at regulating this sphere at the national level. The Mission is consistently highlighting information about fallen service members from Crimea and events taking place on the peninsula.

As Lyudmyla Shevchuk noted, commemorative practices should include a wide range of cultural and educational initiatives such as awareness-raising events, memorial evenings, and educational components.

At the same time, the participants of the meeting emphasized the need to implement a centralized approach to archiving information related to the temporarily occupied territories, particularly the Crimean Peninsula. This approach should involve the State Archival Service of Ukraine and be integrated into the national memory policy within the framework of the Cognitive De-occupation Strategy.

Special attention was given to the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the Indigenous peoples of Crimea — the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks. This includes the need to document, systematize, and archive data on cultural monuments, intangible heritage, and other elements of identity currently at risk of being lost or destroyed due to the policies of the occupying state. These efforts must be accompanied by processes of revitalization and restoration of heritage sites after de-occupation, taking into account the authentic cultural context, and carried out in close cooperation with representatives of the Indigenous peoples.