On 18 May, a commemorative event was held at the Memorial to the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide in the Square of Peace, dedicated to honouring the memory of hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars deported from their native land by the Soviet authorities in 1944. The Memorial was inaugurated in 2024 during the Fourth Crimea Platform Summit.

The ceremony began with a symbolic and now traditional laying of kerosene lamps by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the First Lady, Olena Zelenska.

The ceremony was also attended by the Head of the Office of the President, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov; First Deputy Head of the Office of the President Sergiy Kyslytsia; Deputy Heads of the Office of the President Olena Kovalska and Ihor Zhovkva; Permanent Representative Olha Kuryshko; the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Member of Parliament of Ukraine Mustafa Dzhemiliev; Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, along with other members of the Mejlis; Member of Parliament Tamila Tasheva; and Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelenskyi.

The event brought together a wide range of participants — representatives of the Crimean Tatar people, military personnel, members of security agencies, civil society organisations, foreign diplomatic missions in Ukraine, and other public figures who gathered with a shared goal: to honour the memory of the victims of the deportation.

During the event, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a speech. He emphasised that Ukraine preserves the memory of the victims of the Crimean Tatar genocide and stressed that it was with the occupation of Crimea that Russia began its aggression against Ukraine.

The memorial event continued with a speech by the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Member of Parliament of Ukraine Mustafa Dzhemiliev. He recalled that after the deportation, Crimean Tatars lived for decades in conditions of lawlessness and tyranny, while the truth about this crime remained largely unknown to the world for a long time.

The ceremony concluded with a prayer led by the Mufti of the Religious Administration of Muslims of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Sheikh Aider Rustemov.

During the event, participants had the opportunity to write letters to political prisoners illegally held by the aggressor state at the “Letters to Free Crimea” station. This initiative was launched in 2023 by the Mission together with the NGO “PEN Ukraine”, the organisation “CrimeaSOS”, and the ZMINA Human Rights Centre. Attendees were also able to view an historical briefing that provides deeper insight into the events of the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.

The event was organised by the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea / Crimea Platform Office in cooperation with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, with the support of the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, funded by the governments of Canada, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and United Kingdom.