At least 223 Ukrainian citizens are being held in custody on politically motivated charges. The situation has become particularly dramatic since 2022, when Crimea effectively turned into a prison for residents of the newly occupied territories. This was reported by Olha Skrypnyk, chair of the Crimean Human Rights Group, speaking at a panel discussion entitled “Crimea: Resistance that Gives Birth to Freedom” at the Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University.
The discussion was intended to highlight the resistance in the occupied peninsula, particularly among young people, to share personal stories, and to listen to people who have personally experienced the Russian repressive regime, the press service of the representative office reported.
The panel discussion was attended by Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine to the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People; Leniie Umerova, a Crimean resident and former political prisoner; Artem Kiseliov, a soldier and Crimea resident; and Oha Skrypnyk, Chair of the Crimean Human Rights Group. The event was moderated by Yevhen Bondarenko, Head of the Information Support Department of the Representative Office.
The CHRG Chair outlined the evolution of the repressive machine that Russia has built in the occupied Crimea since 2014. She recalled that it all began with the appearance of “little green men” in Yalta and the aggressive imposition of the peninsula’s “ancestral Russianness” myth. But as early as in March 2014, Crimeans took to the streets en masse in peaceful protests—to the parliament, to the Shevchenko monument.
“As of now, we may name at least 223 Ukrainian citizens who are being held in custody on politically motivated charges. Cases are being fabricated in large numbers against Crimean Tatar activists on charges of “terrorism” with 17-18 years’ sentences. Standard charges against Ukrainians are “espionage” or “collaboration with the SBU.” Women are also being persecuted – more than 22 have been illegally detained, including 70-year-old volunteer Halyna Dovhopola. The situation has become particularly dramatic since 2022, when Crimea effectively turned into a prison for residents of the newly occupied territories,” said Olha Skrypnyk.
During the panel discussion, Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative, described the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea, mentioning in particular the introduction of administrative punishment under the article on the so-called “discrediting of the Russian army,” which the occupation administration applies to those who resist. As of May 19, 2025, 1,350 cases of drawing the reports under this article were recorded. Olha Kuryshko emphasized the intensification of persecuting young people since the start of the large-scale war.
“With the start of the large-scale war, the occupation administration began to more intensively persecute young people for political reasons. A striking example of this is the story of Bohdan Ziza, who splashed blue and yellow paint on the building of the occupation administration in Yevpatoriia and received an unlawful 15-years’ sentence,” Olha Kuryshko said.
In his speech, Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, spoke about the resistance of the Crimean Tatars and the importance of honoring the victims of the Crimean Tatar people genocide. He noted that today’s Russian model of pressure appeared to be much stronger than the practices of the Soviet period.
“We often don’t fully realize what is really happening in Crimea and what ways there are to express disagreement with the occupation. In the past, during Soviet times, if you actively protested, they would come after you, persecute you, repress you. Now the situation in Crimea is completely different. You have to constantly demonstrate your loyalty, otherwise they will definitely come after you. Those people who resist non-violently and do not collaborate with the occupation administration are courageous people, and there are hundreds of thousands of them,” said Refat Chubarov.
During the event, the experience of staying in a Russian prison was described by Leniie Umerova, a Crimean resident. Until 2014, she had lived in Crimea, but the occupation forced her to move to Kyiv. She worked as a marketing specialist and studied. In December 2022, she wanted to visit the peninsula to see her father. After refusing to take a Russian passport, she became a target for Russian punitive structures.
“If you have dignity and critical reasoning, you are an enemy to the Russians. If a person can think differently, he or she will be removed. They make the semblance that this person does not exist. This draws direct parallels with deportation. My family was called traitors back then. Now we are being locked up for espionage and treason. Russia doesn’t need people. It seizes territory and needs convenient, intimidated people,” Leniie Umerova emphasized.
Artem Kiseliov, a military man and a Crimea resident, shared his story during the event. His family is closely connected to the Ukrainian navy and deeply involved in resisting against Russian occupation. In 2014, Artem remained loyal to Ukraine, and his father, the commander of the M/S Slavutych, also chose the path of resistance and became at risk of persecution. Having left Crimea, he lived in Henichesk, helped other displaced persons, and participated in the blockade of Crimea. Eventually, the Russian repressive machine caught up with him: today he is a political prisoner, held in the “Vladimir Central” prison, and has been twice placed in solitary confinement. Artem emphasized that this story was not an exception, but a potential reality for many who had relatives in the occupied territory and continued to speak aloud about Crimea.
The event hosted also a location for the initiative “Letters to Free Crimea,” where anyone could support unlawfully imprisoned Ukrainian citizens. Students and lecturers could also view the exhibition “Crimea through the Eyes of Citizen Journalists: 10 years in Captivity,” organized by the ZMINA. Center for Human Rights organization in various cities of Ukraine. This exhibition brings together photos taken by journalists and activists to document the crimes of Russian occupiers since the beginning of the occupation of Crimea.
