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 persecutes Crimean residents because of their pro-Ukrainian stance and manifestations of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identity. In 2022, Russia adopted amendments to the criminal and administrative codes, which provide for liability for the so-called “discrediting of the armed forces of the Russian Federation” to suppress the resistance and unwillingness of people to accept the occupation. The following recent cases are illustrative:

• A resident of Dzhankoi, Oleksii Silin, tore the Russian flag off his neighbor’s house and trampled it. The occupiers detained the man and forced him to apologize on video, and the issue of opening an illegal criminal case is being decided.
• A resident of Sevastopol, Kostiantyn Horpynchenko, allegedly tried to set on fire railway relay cabinets. The occupiers detained the man, and a court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don illegally sentenced him to 11 years in a strict regime 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 from the ATESH resistance movement continue to gather intelligence on Russian military facilities. Their reconnaissance efforts have identified an enemy stronghold in Yevpatoriia, located in an abandoned multi-story building near the coastline; military equipment stationed at the Yevpatoriia Freight railway station; the deployment site of the 91st Brigade, 4th Division of River Boats of the Russian Armed Forces on Cape Tarkhankut near Olenivka village; and new defensive positions of the occupiers near Novofedorivka in the Yevpatoriia district. Additionally, they uncovered developments at the Hvardiiske Military Airfield near the town of Hvardiiske in the Simferopol district, documenting a significant increase in air defense systems, including S-400 launchers and radar stations.
• The Yellow Ribbon movement continues its struggle in Crimea by destroying propaganda and spreading patriotic symbols in cities such as Kerch, Yalta, Feodosiia, Sevastopol, and Simferopol. The movement’s social media accounts have also reported ecological issues related to an oil spill in Sevastopol and announced coordination meetings for their activities in Crimea planned for 2025.
• The Zla Mavka resistance group persists in exposing the crimes of Russian occupiers to the global community while simultaneously adorning Crimean cities with patriotic symbols. 
• Activists from Crimean Combat Seagulls systematically collect and publish information about collaborators and Russian war criminals operating in temporarily occupied Crimea.

As of January 13, the Russian occupation administration is illegally detaining 218 individuals, including 132 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:

• Medzhyt Abdurakhmanov, a Crimean resident illegally convicted by Russia and currently held in Penal Colony No. 9 in the city of Tsivilsk, Chuvashia, Russia, has been subjected to harsher detention conditions and placed in a high-security cell-type facility.
• Crimean human rights defender and citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych, unlawfully sentenced by an occupation “court” to seven years of imprisonment, is suffering from severe health issues.
• Oleh Fedorov, a Crimean resident sentenced by Russia to 13 years, has had his placement in solitary confinement extended for the fourth time at Penal Colony No. 5 in the Udmurt Republic of Russia.
• Erfan Osmanov, another Crimean resident unjustly sentenced by Russia, has been transferred to Penal Colony No. 1 in Kyzyl, Tuva Republic, Russia. During his transfer, the political prisoner was moved through multiple detention centers, traveling approximately 3,000 kilometers.

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 December 26, 2024, 1126 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 993 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 36 cases, the materials are still being considered. Disaggregated by gender, 442 (45%) decisions were issued against women and 550 (55%) against men. In total, the aggregate amount of fines imposed has already amounted to at least 26.4 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!