11 years of Crimea occupation: how russia invaded the peninsula, – Olha SKRYPNYK, the witness of the events, the Head of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group, is on the air of HROMADSKE RADIO
Ruslana KRAVCHENKO: We all know about the events of 26 February when a lot of people and supporters of Ukraine gathered in front of the Verkhovna Rada (the Parliament) of Crimea. And to our regret we know the outcome of the events. Still it is the date of 20 February which was called to be the day when the russian troops were deployed in Crimea. Back then the russian aggression against Ukraine started. What are your recollections about the day?
Olha SKRYPNYK: I remember that day very vivid. This day was one of the most difficult and tragic for us. I was in the city of Yalta. On that particular day we could not leave for Kyiv, but many Crimean residents, including myself – I was the university lecturer at the material time – and some of my students used to leave for Kyiv to support the Maidan. But on the eve of 20 February we could not even get to the trains heading to Simferopol. We were physically taken off the trains by so-called police or the “self-defense” of Crimea controlled by russia.
The day of 20 February was a dreadful day for us. We were watching the Ukrainian media and witnessing the shooting at Maidan. Our attention was fully there. We gathered at the streets of Yalta, on the embankment, in order to support the protesters in Kyiv. But it was impossible to leave Crimea. Well, to be honest, the date of 20 February is first of all recalled as the day of shootings on Maidan and the despair among the residents of Crimea who supported Maidan. And this is the day when russia started the military operations in Crimea as all the attention was paid to the events in Kyiv.
We started getting some messages, firstly in Sevastopol. As the main events took place in Sevastopol. Also there were messages from the city of Kerch, the spot in Crimea where to russia transferred the machinery from its territory.
My friends and colleagues informed me that in Sevastopol the troops of the russian Black Fleet base in Sevastopol were on the move. The presence of the so-called “self-defense” raised.
This is how I recall 20 of February. That was another sleepless night when we witnessed online what was going on in Kyiv and we were not able to leave Crimea to support Kyiv…
