On May 18th Ukraine commemorates the victims of the deportation of Crimean Tatars, which became one of the most tragic pages of the history of the 20th century. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine recognized this crime of the Stalin’s regime as genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. In the name of restoring historical truth we call on our international partners to pay tribute to innocent victims and condemn this crime committed by totalitarian communist regime.

The current Kremlin regime and its occupation administration in Crimea in a similar vein resorted to unshamed terror against Crimean Tatars. Occupants have banned Mejlis. The persecution and physical destruction of Crimean Tatars became systemic. The victims of political repression in Crimea are: film director Oleh Sentsov who was groundlessly sent to the Russian prison for 20 years, activist Volodymyr Balukh who was sent to jail only for hanging up Ukrainian flag above his home, Uzeiir Abdullaiev, who is being cynically deprived by Kremlin jailers of urgent medical assistance, as well as dozens of other active and concerned Crimean Tatars who became political prisoners. The atmosphere of fear, physical and psychological pressure has forced almost 40,000 citizens of Ukraine, including more than 20,000 Crimean Tatars to leave the occupied peninsula.

Ukraine demands from the Russian Federation to stop the human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, immediately release all political prisoners, ensure full compliance of the Russian Federation with the obligations as an invading state in accordance with international law, implement the UN General Assembly resolutions "The territorial integrity of Ukraine”, of March 27, 2014, "Situation of human rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Ukraine)”, of December 19, 2016 and December 19, 2017, as well as the Order of the International Court of Justice of April 19, 2017, on the application of provisional measures.

The international democratic community demonstrates the unbreakable unity in the non-recognition of the attempted annexation of Crimea. We feel strong political support of the EU, the United States, Canada and all democratic states that have imposed sanctions against the aggressor state. We will work together to stop the Kremlin terror in the peninsula and restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders.