The Permanent Representative joined the Crimea Wave Forum, organized by the youth wing ZeMolodizhka of the Servant of the People political party, with the participation of the Mission and the Q-hub project and educational platform.

Ms. Tasheva was a speaker at the first panel discussion “Returning Home: Military, Political and Legal Dimensions of Crimea’s Reintegration”.

“Now we have a much better understanding that Crimea will definitely be de-occupied. First of all, because it is also an existential war for Ukraine, and there is no way back for our people, we have to return all the territories,” Tamila Tasheva said.

The Permanent Representative also spoke more about the priority steps of the state after the de-occupation of Crimea, developed on behalf of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The Permanent Representative paid special attention to the future personnel policy, restoration of public authorities on the liberated peninsula, as well as the involvement of youth in these processes.

Ms. Tasheva also shared with the audience new information about the resistance movements in the occupied Crimea: both large-scale ones – Crimean Fighting Seagulls, Yellow Ribbon, Atesh, Crimean Partisans – and individual movements, when people write “The Armed Forces are coming” on the walls, raise the national flag and sing the Ukrainian anthem.

Andriy Kulikov asked from the audience an important question about how to communicate with Ukrainian citizens about the issue of punishment for collaboration.

“It is important not to organize a ‘witch hunt’. We are also working on this issue. Of course, there are those who were involved in collaboration activities: engaged in propaganda, destroyed the environment, and were involved in Russia’s crimes. These people must be brought to justice, but they are not hundreds of thousands. Most of our citizens have become victims of the occupation. All cases will have to be considered individually. This needs to be communicated very carefully among the Crimeans,” said the Permanent Representative.

Other speakers at the panel discussion were: Deputy Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Anatoliy Stelmakh, First Deputy Head of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol Vitaliy Secretary and Member of the Ukrainian Parliament, political leader of ZeMolodizhka Oleksandr Sanchenko.

The panel was moderated by Ukrainian journalist and media expert Andriy Kulikov.