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 public sentiment among 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 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 Simferopol did not stand up during the performance of the anthem of the occupying country during a freestyle wrestling competition. The occupiers urged for the man to be “brought to justice”.
• A 54-year-old resident of Sevastopol posted Ukrainian symbols on social networks and criticized the occupiers. The occupiers detained the man and transferred the materials to an illegal “court”, which decided to impose an administrative arrest for five days. The issue of initiating a criminal case is under review.

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 continued to reconnoiter the occupiers’ military facilities, in particular, they reconnoitered the Black Sea Fleet’s reserve command post in Sevastopol and passed the information to the relevant Ukrainian services. The activists also report that the occupiers’ 810th Marine Brigade in Sevastopol is facing staffing problems due to the deployment of most of its personnel to the Kursk region.
• Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement continue to resist the occupiers in Crimea, destroying copies of propaganda materials and distributing patriotic symbols in the occupied cities of the peninsula, including Simferopol, Sevastopol, Yevpatoriia, Bilohirsk, and Alupka, as well as right at the Russian firing positions in Yalta.
• Activists of the Crimean Combat Seagulls continue to expose the personal data of collaborators and Russian war criminals in occupied Crimea.
• The Zla Mavka resistance movement continues to publish its diaries, a weekly newspaper revealing the occupiers` crimes, and patriotic symbols.

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

• Bohdan Shchetynin, a 44-year-old resident of Sevastopol, who was illegally detained in late October for expressing support for the Ukrainian Defense Forces and criticizing the actions of the Russian occupation army against Ukraine, was fined 40,000 rubles.
• Citizen journalist Remzi Bekirov, illegally sentenced to 19 years, was transferred to the strict regime of detention in the Penal Colony #33 in Abakan, Khakassia, Russia. For almost three months, he has not been allowed to call.
• Bilial Adilov, illegally sentenced by Russia to 14 years in prison, was transferred to a penal colony in the city of Kyzyl, Republic of Tyva, Russia.

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 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. The total amount of fines imposed has already reached 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!