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 Bilohlynka village in Simferopol District, Tymur Hulakov, criticized the actions of the occupying Russian army on social media. The occupiers detained him, filed a protocol, and an illegal “court” imposed a fine of 50,000 rubles (equivalent to over two minimum wages).
• A resident of Sevastopol was allegedly collecting information about the occupiers’ air defense systems and fleet for Ukrainian military intelligence. The occupiers detained him, and a decision on initiating an illegal criminal case is pending.
• Yalta resident Vitalii Khomenko was accused of providing information about employees of the occupying “law enforcement agencies” in temporarily occupied Crimea to Ukraine’s Security Service. An illegal “court” sentenced him in absentia to 18 years of imprisonment on fabricated charges of “treason.”

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

• Resistance movement activists from ATESH continue gathering intelligence on occupiers’ military facilities. They identified an occupiers’ headquarters within a civilian structure in Yevpatoriia, fortifications along the coastline near the city, a concealed equipment repair base near Novofedorivka in Yevpatoriia District, and military sites in Sevastopol’s Balaklava Bay. Additionally, the activists spread a series of graffiti in Simferopol calling for people to join the movement.
• Activists from the Yellow Ribbon movement remain steadfast in their resistance against the occupiers in Crimea, destroying propaganda materials and disseminating patriotic symbols. On January 22, they marked Unity Day with messages shared in Kerch, Alushta, Armiansk, Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, and Yevpatoriia. Furthermore, the activists reported new occupier checkpoints in Yevpatoriia and several villages, as well as the establishment of a specialized school in Sevastopol for children of participants in the so-called “special military operation” and occupiers’ “law enforcement agencies.”
• The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues its efforts, documenting Russian occupiers’ crimes to expose them to the global community while adorning Crimean cities with patriotic symbols. This week, their patriotic stickers appeared on the promenades in Kerch and Sevastopol.
• Activists from the Crimean Combat Seagulls movement persist in systematically collecting and publishing data on collaborators and Russian war criminals 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:

• Euromaidan activist Andrii Kolomiiets, who was illegally convicted by Russia in occupied Crimea, has been released from a Russian prison after 10 years of imprisonment. He is currently being held in a deportation center in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
• Fifty-nine-year-old Ruslan Mesutov, who was unlawfully sentenced to 18 years in prison, has been transferred to Penal Colony No. 1 in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Russia. Upon arrival, he was placed in a punishment cell, and his personal belongings, including his Quran and glasses, were confiscated.
• The case of Crimean civic activist Volodymyr Ananiev, unlawfully detained by Russian occupiers, has been referred to the Southern Military District Court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. The 75-year-old suffers from hypertension, a spinal hernia, and vision problems and requires constant care and specialized medical treatment. Given the conditions of detention, his life is under significant threat.
• Vadym Siruk, who was unlawfully sentenced to 12 years in prison, reports that in Correctional Facility No. 2 in Bashkortostan, Russia, Muslim inmates have had all Arabic copies of the Quran confiscated.

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 9, 2024, 1139 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 1022 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 20 cases, the materials are still being considered. Disaggregated by gender, 466 (46%) decisions were issued against women and 555 (54%) against men. In total, the aggregate amount of fines imposed has already amounted to at least 33 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!