The occupation administration in Crimea continues its systematic violations of human rights and repression of the Crimean Tatar people. On 20 March 2024, in the village of Morske, Feodosiia district, the occupiers demolished and removed the trailer that served as the home of Rustem Useinov, a veteran of the Crimean Tatar national movement.

Rustem Useinov had been building a house in Morske, but after Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, he could not complete the legal paperwork. The occupiers declared the home an “unauthorised construction,” and although Useinov filed an appeal against the court’s decision in 2021, the house was still demolished in November of that year. Since then, he had lived on the same site—first in a tent for two years, and later in a trailer he set up himself.

Rustem Useinov explained that about a month and a half or two months ago, upon returning home, he found a notice posted on his door stating that the trailer had been “illegally installed and must be removed.” On the morning of 20 March, around 15 people arrived, including representatives of the occupation police, an FSB officer, the so-called “head of administration” of Morske, and one of the occupation “city council deputies” of Sudak. A tow truck with a crane later arrived, loaded the trailer, and took it away.

“Now I’ll go to the shops, look for a tent, and live in it. I already lived in a tent for two years right after they demolished my house. First of all, I have nowhere else to go. Second, this is an ancient village—the land of my ancestors. Our village has over two thousand years of history. My grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and great-great-grandfathers all lived here. So many generations have passed in two thousand years—and all of mine lived here. So there’s no question. I’m staying here,” said Rustem Useinov.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea condemns the actions of the occupation administration and demands that Russia cease its human rights violations in Crimea. The Mission calls on the international community to intensify pressure on Russia to protect the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity.