Every day, our compatriots in temporarily occupied Crimea continue to tirelessly resist the Russian occupiers, demonstrating support for Ukraine and trust in the inevitable de-occupation of the peninsula.

In our regular column #resistance_movement, we continue to inform you, together with the National Resistance Center, about public sentiment among Crimean residents and about the people who destroy Russian propaganda narratives.

The occupation administration systematically persecutes residents of Crimea for their support of Ukraine, expressions of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity, and any criticism of the Russian occupation and military aggression. As early as 2022, Russia amended its criminal and administrative legislation to introduce penalties for so-called “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” This measure has become yet another tool for suppressing activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens. This week, the following cases were recorded:

• Russian occupation forces detained a resident of Sevastopol after criticizing the actions of the Russian army in an online chat. Following an illegal “court ruling,” he was sentenced to an administrative fine of 40,000 rubles, equivalent to nearly three minimum monthly wages.
• Illia Tsapov, a resident of Yany Kapu (formerly Krasnoperekopsk), openly expressed his support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine on social media, criticized the Russian occupiers, called for resistance, and shared pro-Ukrainian slogans. In response, Russian occupation forces detained the 39-year-old, coerced him to record a public apology on camera, and filed multiple administrative reports against him. The materials were subsequently submitted to an illegal “court.”
• In a similar case, Mykhailo Soloviov, a 50-year-old resident of Kerch, was arrested for criticizing the Russian occupation administration on social media. Occupation forces coerced him to apologize on camera, compiled an administrative protocol, and forwarded the case to an illegal “court.”
• A female resident of Sevastopol was accused of gathering intelligence on the occupying armed forces for Ukrainian military intelligence. She was detained by the Russian occupation administration and subsequently sentenced by an illegal “court” to five years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.
• Another resident of Sevastopol, who had fled the occupation with his family to Spain in 2023, returned in 2024 to sell his property. Upon his return, Russian occupation forces detained him, and an illegal “court” found him guilty of “state treason” on the grounds of allegedly financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was sentenced to 12 years of imprisonment in a high-security penal colony.

Every day, organized resistance movements, which gained strength after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, demonstrate their resistance to the occupiers:

• Activists of the ATESH resistance movement continue to conduct reconnaissance on Russian military facilities, closely monitoring fuel movement across the “Kerch Bridge,” and tracking the volumes and schedules of fuel and military cargo transportation. Additionally, movement agents report that the occupation command has begun withdrawing certain anti-aircraft missile units from occupied Crimea to Russia, a decision likely linked to the successful strikes by Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces on oil depots and military infrastructure.

• The Yellow Ribbon movement remains active in occupied Crimea, carrying out anti-propaganda actions and distributing pro-Ukrainian symbols. Their latest efforts include destroying Russian propaganda materials and spreading patriotic insignia in key locations across the peninsula, including Simferopol’s Dzhienkay-Kyr (Petrovsky Rocks), the main embankment of the Salhyr River, the historic center of Yalta, Sevastopol, and the Baidarska Valley.
• The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues its mission of documenting Russian war crimes and exposing them to the international community while simultaneously decorating cities in Crimea with Ukrainian patriotic symbols.
• Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement persist in their systematic collection and publication of data on collaborators and Russian war criminals operating in temporarily occupied Crimea.

As of February 13, the Russian occupation administration has illegally detained 221 individuals, including 134 representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, on fabricated charges such as terrorism, extremism, and treason. These actions are part of Russia’s broader campaign of repression targeting Crimean Tatars and anyone who resists occupation or seeks to preserve their cultural and national identity. Recent cases highlight the severity of these repressions:

• Visually impaired activist Ihor Nikitenko, who was detained and fined by the Russian occupation administration for criticizing the actions of the occupation administration, has filed several complaints against the officers of the occupational police. Among his demands is the return of confiscated equipment, rehabilitation devices, and personal gadgets that were seized from his home. According to Nikitenko, the total value of the confiscated items amounts to 110,000 rubles, and he cannot afford to replace them alone.
• Human rights defender and former coordinator of Crimean Solidarity, Server Mustafaiev, who was unlawfully sentenced by Russian occupiers to 14 years in prison, has reported severe lower back pain and psoriasis, which developed during his detention in Correctional Colony No. 1 in Tambov, Russia. His health condition continues to deteriorate due to the lack of adequate medical care.
• After nine years of illegal imprisonment, Crimean Tatar activists Rustem Abiltarov, Zevri Abseitov, and Remzi Memetov have finally regained their freedom. They were arrested on May 12, 2016, in occupied Bakhchysarai on fabricated “terrorism” charges and later convicted in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, in 2018.

The growing resistance to the occupation in Crimea is also evidenced by the increasing number of illegal administrative proceedings in the occupation “courts” under the article on the so-called “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” As of January 31, 2025, 1203 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation were recorded in the so-called “courts” in temporarily occupied Crimea and other competent authorities.

In 1058 of these cases, a decision was made to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine or to join the case to another case under another article and make a cumulative decision. In 46 cases, the materials are still being considered. Disaggregated by gender, 489 (46%) decisions were issued against women and 568 (54%) against men. In total, the aggregate amount of fines imposed has already amounted to at least 34,15 million Russian rubles.

We thank everyone for their courage and clear civic stance. Crimea is Ukraine, and we are struggling together to liberate Crimea as soon as possible and to return a sense of security to our citizens who are forced to live under occupation.

Glory to Ukraine!