MAIN TOPICS:

• Last week, a series of explosions took place in the occupied Crimea, in Oktyabrskoye, Dzhankoy, Stary Krym, near Sevastopol Bay, Saki, Novofedorivka, Novoozerne and in the Kerch Strait area. 

• Occupation forces conducted an illegal search in the house of Crimean Tatar activist Asan Zekeryaev, after which they took the man to an unknown location. A few hours later, it became known that his wife Emine and their two minor children, who were in her family’s house at the time, were also taken away. After interrogation at the FSB building in Simferopol, they were released.

Crimes of occupation

• As of 14 August, it is known that the occupiers in Crimea have illegally imprisoned 180 Ukrainian citizens. 117 of them are representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. Out of the total number of political prisoners, 24 are arrested, 138 are imprisoned, and 18 are without status. 

• In the proceedings of the so-called ‘courts’ on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, 448 cases of materials drawn up under Article 20.3.3 were recorded. In 382 of these cases, a decision was made to impose an administrative penalty in the form of a fine, and in 12 cases the consideration of the materials is ongoing. In 37 cases, the materials were returned to the “body” that drew them up, and in 8 cases, the proceedings were terminated.

• The Russian Federation once again violates the norms of international humanitarian law. There are reports of the illegal transfer of Ukrainian citizens to the territory of the Russian Federation, including Crimean Tatar activist and religious leader Bilal Adilov to the Russian prison in Minusinsk, and illegally convicted journalist Irina Danilovich to the women’s penal colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk.

• Political prisoner Server Zekiryayev was again placed in a punishment cell. Currently, the man is in penal colony No. 1 in the city of Donskoy, Tula region. According to his wife, he is not receiving the parcels that are sent to him. In general, Server Zekiryayev has lost 20 kg during his stay in the colony.

• The wives of illegally convicted Nariman Dzhelial, Asan and Aziz Akhtemov were unreasonably denied access to the occupation detention centre, despite the fact that Leviz Dzhelialov, Repik and Adili Akhtemov represent their husbands’ interests in court as public defenders alongside lawyers, so they had every right to visit their husbands during their illegal detention. 

• In Alushta, three water park animators were detained for “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces”. The occupiers did not like the fact that the girls were dancing to a song by a Ukrainian artist. This led to an administrative report and a fine of 15,000 rubles. Andrey Kondryakov also received a fine of 40 thousand rubles for “discrediting the Russian Armed Forces” because of his tattoo in the form of the State Emblem of Ukraine.

• The occupiers continue to commit violence against Crimean Tatar political prisoners and discriminate against people on religious and ethnic grounds. For example, prison staff in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk region of the Russian Federation, forcibly shave prisoners, break their shavers with special attachments, insult, beat and prevent Muslims from praying. Also last week, the occupation court placed a representative of the Jehovah’s Witnesses religious organization, Viktor Ursa, under house arrest after two weeks in detention. A criminal case was opened against him under Part 1 of Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – “Organisation of the activities of an extremist organization”.

• Civilian journalist from Crimea Timur Ibragimov, illegally sentenced by a Russian court to 17 years in prison, was diagnosed with cholelithiasis. At the same time, Russian doctors did not provide Ibragimov with any recommendations and refused to do a blood test. 
• Former military expert and journalist Dmitriy Shtyblikov from Sevastopol, illegally convicted by a Russian court for ‘high treason’, is being subjected to psychological torture in a Russian colony. The activist is in a complete information vacuum, he is forbidden to read books, listen to the radio, or see his family.  At the same time, the political prisoner has health problems and needs a medical examination due to hypertension, dermatological problems and chronic varicose veins, which Russian doctors do not pay attention to.

• The occupiers continue to put pressure on minors for expressing support for Ukraine. In particular, Anna Panchenko was prosecuted and harassed by a pro-Russian blogger Talipov for using and distributing a yellow ribbon. The girl was forced to make her “apologies”, which were subsequently posted by Talipov in the public domain.

Militarisation of the Crimean Peninsula

• Last week, the occupation fleet trained anti-submarine warfare units in Komysheva Bay, on the Southern and Northern breakwaters. “Scheduled” exercises also took place in the Black Sea region. 

• The aggressor state continues to use the territory of the occupied peninsula to move military equipment. Thus, last week, residents of the occupied Crimea recorded the movement of a train with 30 tanks and a train with Russian military through the town of Nyzhnohirsky to Dzhankoy, and further towards Genichesk.  In Simferopol and Yevpatoria, activists also noticed the movement of occupation personnel and the loading of military equipment. 

• The militarisation of the occupied Crimea continues. This time, the occupiers plan to create a research and production center to develop unmanned aerial systems. They have already opened the UAV Flight Dynamics laboratory, a specialized department, an engineering center, a community center, and a flight test shed at Sevastopol State University, for which they are launching additional “professional programmes” for servicing drones.

• The occupiers continue to turn all regular hospitals in Crimea into military hospitals.  They are now planning to completely re-profile Simferopol City Hospital No. 7, where last week they began to receive wounded Russian soldiers, for whom the 5th and 7th floors of the hospital were provided.

Forced mobilization

• The occupiers continue to “encourage” residents of the occupied Crimea to fight against Ukraine. Now they have come up with the idea of giving away land in Leninsky, Chornomorsky and Saksky districts to combatants in the war against Ukraine if they have a registration in Crimea and this place of registration was permanent before the full-scale invasion. However, if there is a permanent registration in another subject of the Russian Federation, the occupiers will not provide the land plot.

• The occupation administration is forcing Crimeans to join the military service under contract in the so-called ” DNR”. At the same time, the “volunteers” are promised not to be involved in hostilities, but only to control the newly occupied territories. People aged between 18 and 50 are lured with money and various bonuses, such as housing, free meals and medical care, and annual vacations.

• We remind you of our guide on how to avoid illegal service in the aggressor’s army: https://cutt.ly/cwtipVM4.

Propaganda of the occupation administrations and incitement to hatred

• In the occupied Crimea, fuel prices are rising rapidly. This is attributed to the fact that there are practically no fuel reserves on the peninsula. At the same time, the occupation administration is trying to calm down the locals and claims that there is enough fuel in full, and the situation in Crimea is “stable” and “under control”. Also, residents of the occupied Crimea were left without electricity due to alleged “repair works”. There is no electricity in Simferopol district, where 101 streets and 9 passages are cut off, in Feodosia, Kerch, and Yevpatoria. The situation with the power outage also occurred in Dzhankoy, Chervonogvardeysky and Bakhchisaray districts.

• In July, the number of Russian tourists in the occupied Crimea dropped by almost half. The cost of holidays has also fallen, by an average of 15-20%. Hotels on the peninsula are on average 50-60% full, and price cuts in various hotels reached up to 25%. Hotel owners say that the main reason for the decline in demand for holidays in the occupied Crimea is transport restrictions and the psychological fear of families with children. 

• Harvested crops in the occupied part of Kherson region are actively stolen through illegally operating Crimean ports. The occupiers are using the port infrastructure of the occupied Crimea to export looted grain from the occupied territories.  Grain is bought for nothing, and only to imitate the appearance of market relations. All farmers in the occupied regions have to give their wheat to the enemy at a fixed price, which is many times lower than the market price.

• The Russians are conducting unsanctioned excavations and taking memorabilia out of Crimea. This is done on the basis of exhibitions and restoration. In addition, they continue to destroy the cultural and archaeological landscape of the Khan’s Palace and Chersonesos Tavriya, which, in particular, is being transformed into an imperial concept with a pseudo-Byzantine style.  In the historical and archaeological park, the Russian army’s military builders are also constructing a new amphitheater, which will completely destroy the identity and peculiarity of Tauric Chersonese.

• The occupiers continue to militarize the children of the occupied Crimea. For example, in Sevastopol, children are taught to fly drones, arguing that such skills are now needed at the front, and with the knowledge gained, schoolchildren will be able to serve as UAV operators in the future. Even in summer holiday camps, the occupiers do not leave children alone. They force them to sing the Russian national anthem, conduct “patriotism” lessons, and tell them about the Russian war against Ukraine. No other activities, educational exercises or creative clubs are included in the programme. Parents complain that the children in the camp did not rest at all, do not share stories about interesting activities or friends, but only about what they were taught in “patriotic lessons”.

• The occupation administration has banned the raising of the Crimean Tatar flag at school line-ups on the peninsula. In addition, schools were banned from planning certain events, such as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide on
• May 18. On the eve of the commemorative dates, a special “commission” will work in Crimean Tatar schools, as planning such events will be considered as preparation of provocations.

• The occupiers are already preparing a scheme for conducting fake voting and plan to use the territory of the occupied peninsula to hold illegal elections of ” MPs” to the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, as well as the so-called “DPR” and “LPR”. The relevant “document” with instructions has been sent to the occupation administrations.   It states that the established polling stations will be located in all 4 districts of Sevastopol. In addition, the “election headquarters” were instructed to go around to local residents in the occupied territories to force people to participate in the pseudo-elections. Overall, 15 “polling stations” are planned to be launched in the occupied Crimea. 

• The occupation administration intends to strengthen the penalties for filming air defense systems, military and strategic facilities on the peninsula, and to recognise people who recorded and publicly shared these actions as supporters of the “enemy” regardless of their motives. 

• The occupation administration continues to glorify the participants in the war against Ukraine. It is reported that at least 9 streets in Yevpatoria are being named after fallen Russian soldiers.

Publications of the occupation media 

• A selection of Russian propaganda narratives this week: “Ukraine’s laurels as a terrorist state are not enough”, “Ukraine needs the status of a pirate base”, “Kyiv has started fighting not only against the Soviet history, but also against everything connected with Russia”, “Only our ‘special operation’ can save the remains of Russian culture and the traditional church today”, “The Global South is being actively worked on by the collective West”. 

Public sentiment

• Last week, the occupiers stopped buses from traveling between the occupied Crimea and Kherson region through Chongar and Armyansk. In particular, the following routes were stopped: Genichesk – Simferopol; Novotroitsk – Simferopol; Nova Kakhovka – Simferopol; and Genichesk – Dzhankoy. The only thing that remained unchanged was the bus travel time on the Skadovsk-Simferopol route. At the time, the occupiers had to build a pontoon ferry on Chongar to connect the occupied Crimea and Kherson region, instead of the previously damaged road and railway bridges.

• Residents of the occupied Crimea continue to demonstrate resistance to the occupiers and intensify their resistance. Recently, activists have created a new association, the “1918 Movement”, within the framework of which they will collect information about the crimes of the occupation administration, distribute patriotic leaflets, and carry out other underground activities. The number 1918 is quite symbolic in the movement’s name, as on 22 April 1918, a Crimean group of the UPR Army liberated Crimea from the Bolsheviks. 

• Activists of the Yellow Ribbon movement demonstrate resistance to the occupiers and a principled position of support for Ukraine. Dozens of yellow balls, posters with patriotic slogans, hundreds of graffiti with Ukrainian slogans – all this is now part of the streets of the occupied Crimea. The occupation administration also does not like the street graffiti of the ATESh guerrillas, which it is trying to cover up as a matter of urgency. Instead, activists are fighting the supporters of the occupiers in other ways, including by puncturing tyres, setting them on fire, and spray painting cars with hostile Z-symbols with balloons. 

• The Crimean war seagulls report that last week was a real hot “weather” for the occupiers in Crimea: another explosion on the illegal “Kerch bridge”, explosions in Kirovsky district, Novoozerne, and as a result, blocking of traffic across the “bridge” and total panic of the occupiers. 

• The Mission continues to receive inquiries from Ukrainian citizens who want to leave Crimea because they cannot tolerate the occupation and total propaganda. We remind you of our instructions on how to leave the temporarily occupied Crimea: https://cutt.ly/FwtiajlS

We thank the conscious Ukrainian citizens in the occupied Crimea for promptly reporting on the situation on the Crimean peninsula, in particular on the socio-economic situation, the movement of Russian troops, the movement of resistance to the occupation, etc.

For more information, please send an e-mail to the Mission’s Information Department: [email protected]

Glory to Ukraine!