Even after years under occupation, Crimea has not lost its voice. Despite arrests, interrogations, and constant pressure, it endures. The Ukrainian language still echoes through the streets of the peninsula, national identity lives on in people’s hearts, and culture is passed down within families, despite all efforts to erase it. Every day, Crimeans engage in quiet but steadfast resistance — consciously, at personal risk, and with deep faith in truth, dignity, and their Ukrainian belonging.

As part of the special project #resistance_movement, in collaboration with the National Resistance Center, we share the stories of those who refuse to let the enemy erase Ukraine’s presence from our land.

The occupation administration continues its attempts to eliminate all traces of Ukraine: national symbols are disappearing, Ukrainian schools are being shut down, and individuals are persecuted for their language and beliefs. The so-called law on “discrediting the Russian army” has become a tool to silence dissent. And yet, the peninsula does not remain silent.

Every act of resistance — whether a drawing, a leaflet, or a word written on a wall — is part of a vast network of defiance. Below are examples of the most recent manifestations of this struggle:

• The occupation “court” sentenced a 53-year-old resident of the Yevpatoriia district to 17 years in a high-security penal colony and imposed a fine of 200,000 rubles on fabricated charges of alleged treason and contacts with the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, as well as transmitting information about the positions and equipment of occupation forces.
• The occupying administration fined a 22-year-old resident of Simferopol and a 38-year-old resident of Sevastopol for social media comments criticising the actions of the occupation administration’s security forces.
• A resident of Pershotravneve village in Simferopol district, Zlata Spivak, was fined 20,000 rubles for calling for a protest over water supply issues in the village.
• The occupation “court” fined Simferopol district resident Denys Misnyk 30,000 rubles for posting negative remarks about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
• Elnaz Charukhova, a resident of Skvortsove village in Simferopol district, was fined 50,000 rubles for allegedly posting an image on social media depicting Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags with the caption “Crimea is Ukraine. And no one can change that.”
• In Kerch, a local resident was sentenced to 16 years and 6 months in a high-security colony on fabricated charges of alleged treason for supposedly cooperating with Ukrainian intelligence and passing on information about the location of occupation air defence forces.

Resistance in temporarily occupied Crimea has long since ceased to be limited to isolated acts of dissent — today, it is a structured, coordinated movement that has significantly intensified since the launch of Russia’s full-scale aggression in 2022. A united network of individuals operates across the peninsula, working in sync, fully aware of the risks, yet unwavering in their resolve. They wage an information struggle, document the actions of the occupiers, organize peaceful forms of protest, and transmit critical intelligence about the enemy to Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

Their actions are more than just acts of defiance. They are the voice of Crimea, ringing out clearly: we have not surrendered, we are standing firm, we are Ukraine.

• Agents of the ATESH movement continue to monitor the actions of occupation forces. This week, they recorded camouflaged signs of a strike on a vessel of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the Kilen Bay area of temporarily occupied Sevastopol. Damage is visible on the upper deck, which the occupiers are attempting to cover with camouflage netting. Water is being pumped out from the side of the ship, and the presence of tugboats suggests possible flooding of internal compartments. According to intelligence, the vessel was located at the 13th Ship Repair Plant at the time of the strike. The hull number has been painted over, indicating an attempt to conceal the consequences of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ attack.
• The Yellow Ribbon movement remains active across the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea. Activists regularly distribute anti-occupation leaflets, hang yellow ribbons on bus stops, poles, and fences, and leave messages on pavements and buildings. In some towns, the ribbons appear near administrative buildings; in others, near schools or markets. These actions are documented and shared through the media, resistance channels, and archival projects. The message is clear: the occupiers are not in control of this land.
• The women-led initiative Zla Mavka collects personal testimonies from local residents, documenting home raids, interrogations, disappearances, and everyday censorship. They produce visual series, such as illustrated quotes from eyewitnesses, audio recordings, and short videos. They also organize online exhibitions of art projects that portray life under occupation — often through a female lens. Their mission is to preserve the truth and share it beyond the reach of propaganda.
• The Crimean Combat Seagulls group systematically gathers intelligence on the locations and movements of Russian military equipment, and tracks the personal data of collaborators, including local officials and security forces. They maintain registers of collaborators, analyze documents, and leak internal information. Some of the data is shared with Ukrainian special services, while other materials are published in open-source reports.

As of 23 June 2025, at least 221 individuals remain behind bars due to politically motivated persecution by the Russian occupation administration. Among them are 133 Crimean Tatars, charged with fabricated offenses such as “terrorism,” “extremism,” or “treason.” These repressions are part of a broader strategy by the occupiers aimed at suppressing any form of resistance, restricting fundamental rights, and displacing the indigenous population from the peninsula.

Those currently held in prisons endure isolation, torture, and constant psychological pressure. Yet even in captivity, they remain steadfast — true to their beliefs and national dignity. Their struggle has become a symbol of resistance, an example of courage and the fight for freedom.

Recent developments only reaffirm this resilience — here are a few examples:

• The Russian FSB unlawfully detained 24-year-old Khatidzhe Buyukhchan in Crimea on fabricated charges of allegedly preparing a terrorist attack against an officer of the occupation forces. She had gone missing on 6 May, and only after 69 days was she identified in a video showing her detention.
• In Simferopol, the occupation administration’s security forces detained a 40-year-old local resident over social media comments in which he criticized the actions of the occupiers. A criminal case was unlawfully opened against him on alleged “extremism” charges.
• In temporarily occupied Crimea, the occupiers also unlawfully detained Niiara Ersmambetova — a Crimean Tatar woman and pharmacist from Bilohirsk District — accusing her of “state treason” on trumped-up charges. Since late May, she has been held in a detention facility in Simferopol.

The resistance movement in temporarily occupied Crimea is not only surviving — it is growing stronger. This is reflected in the increasing pressure exerted by the occupation administration. As of 17 July 2025, at least 1,472 cases have been recorded under Article 20.3.3 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences, submitted to so-called “courts” and other repressive bodies.

In 1340 of these cases, fines have already been issued or consolidated rulings made, while 55 cases are still under consideration. Gender-wise, 683 rulings (51%) were issued against women and 656 (49%) against men. The situation in Armiansk is particularly alarming: in the first half of 2025 alone, 164 cases were opened there.

Thank you to everyone who refuses to give up, even when every step is under threat. In every symbol, every word, every yellow-and-blue accent, there is a living energy of resistance. These are signs that speak clearly: we have not disappeared, we are not silent, we endure.

When any act — from a post to a ribbon — can lead to a fine, a search, or imprisonment, each gesture becomes an act of remarkable bravery. You are the heart of the resistance. And we say it again: Crimea resists. Crimea is unbroken. Crimea is Ukraine.