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 about the civil stance of Crimean residents and about the people who destroy Russian propaganda narratives.

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

• A resident of Kerch accused Russia of aggression against Ukraine on social media. The occupiers detained her, forced her to apologize on video, filed a report, and sent the materials to an illegal “court.”
• In the village of Chornove in the Kurman district, a local woman criticized the occupiers in a store, pointing out that they were living on land historically belonging to the Crimean Tatars and used derogatory language towards Russians. The occupiers detained her, forced her to apologize on video, filed a report, and submitted the materials to an illegal “court.”
• Another Crimean resident created a playlist of Ukrainian songs on social media. The occupiers detained her, forced her to apologize on video, filed a report, and sent the materials to the so-called “court.”

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 scout out occupiers’ military facilities, including fortifications on Crimea’s western coast. They report that occupiers are increasingly stopping vehicles and thoroughly checking trunks and personal belongings in search of Ukrainian underground operatives.
• The Yellow Ribbon movement’s activists continue their resistance in Crimea, destroying propaganda materials and spreading patriotic symbols in occupied cities, including Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yalta, and Yevpatoriia. They also report that occupiers are seizing businesses from Crimea residents disloyal to Russia.
• Activists of Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to reveal personal information about collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea, while also reporting on fortification construction along the coastline and growing panic among the occupiers.
• The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to keep journals and publish weekly updates exposing the crimes of the occupiers and spreading patriotic symbols in cities like Simferopol, Sevastopol, Alushta, and Kerch.

We should not forget about political prisoners who, even in inhumane conditions of detention, demonstrate resistance to the occupation regime.

• Rustem Sheikhaliiev, a civilian journalist from Crimea illegally sentenced by Russia and currently held in Yenisei prison in the Krasnoyarsk region, suffers from persistent high blood pressure and severe headaches.
• Rustem Seitkhalilov, another Crimean illegally sentenced by Russia, was recently transferred to Correctional Colony No. 9 in Petrozavodsk, Republic of Kareliia, Russia. Upon arrival, he was immediately placed in solitary confinement for 14 days for unknown reasons.
• Illegally sentenced Crimean human rights activist and civilian journalist Iryna Danylovych reports constant heart and headaches. She lost hearing in her left ear after an ear infection, and experiences numbness on the left side of her body following a minor stroke. Danylovych is not receiving adequate medical care.

New illegal administrative proceedings in the occupation courts of Crimea under the article on the so-called “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” also testify to the growing resistance. As of September 20, 2024, 979 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation were recorded in the so-called “courts” in the temporarily occupied Crimea and other bodies. In 875 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 17 cases, the materials are still being considered.

Disaggregated by gender, 377 (43%) decisions were issued against women and 497 (57%) against men. Overall, the total amount of fines imposed already amounts to at least 26.4 million Russian rubles.

We thank everyone for their courage and clear public stance. Crimea is Ukraine, and we are fighting together to return the Crimean Peninsula to Ukrainian control as soon as possible and to bring a sense of security to our citizens from the temporarily occupied territories.

Glory to Ukraine!