Participants in the International Crimea Platform marked 26 February as the anniversary of resistance to Russia’s occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol and reiterated support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised 1991 borders.
The platform said it was honouring Ukrainians — including Crimean Tatars and other Indigenous Peoples and national communities — who protested in 2014 in support of Ukraine’s constitutional order, the European External Action Service (EEAS) informed on Thursday.
It reaffirmed a policy of not recognising Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, and also cited Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The statement listed alleged abuses in the occupied territory over the past 12 years, including politically motivated persecution, arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances, restrictions on freedom of expression and religion, and pressure on independent media and journalists.
It also accused Russia of forced “passportisation” — pressuring residents to take Russian passports — as well as unlawful conscription and mobilisation in occupied areas.
Claims of deportations and cultural damage
The Crimea Platform said it was concerned about the transfer and deportation of civilians from occupied parts of Ukraine, including the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and measures that could affect their identity and family contact.
It also raised concerns about restrictions on access to education in native languages in Crimea and other occupied territories, and about what it described as the militarisation of education.
The statement accused Russia of destroying and removing Ukrainian cultural property and damaging historical and cultural sites in occupied areas.
It said the militarisation of Crimea, including the deployment of strike weapons systems “capable of carrying nuclear potential”, along with threats to navigation and the export of “stolen Ukrainian grain” to third countries, was destabilising the wider Black Sea region and causing environmental harm.
The platform voiced support for diplomatic efforts led by the United States, with European and other international partners, to restore peace “based on respect for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law.”
It called for continued enforcement of sanctions and measures to prevent circumvention through third countries, and said it remained ready to adopt further sanctions while Russia’s actions continue.
The statement demanded the “immediate and unconditional release” of people it described as political prisoners and unlawfully detained individuals, naming Iryna Danylovych, Halyna Dovhopola, Tofik Abdulhaziev, Appaz Kurtamet, Bohdan Ziza, Azamat Eiupov, Hennadii Lemeshko, Esma Nimetullaeva, and Aziz and Asan Ahtemov.
It also called for expanded international monitoring in occupied Crimea, including “immediate and unhindered access” for the UN human rights office (OHCHR) and relevant UN special procedures, including visits to places of detention.
