President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reminded Ukrainians that on Feb 26, they should remember the events that occurred ten years ago and happened in Ukrainian Crimea when Russia stole Ukraine's peninsula.
Zelenskyy pointed to a critical moment in Ukraine's victory in the war
Together with the Russian occupation army, humiliation and mockery of people, repression and fear entered our Crimea. Russian revanchism spawned this brutal war that is currently going on against Ukraine when it felt that the world was capable of disregarding such crimes, annexations and mockery of people whose homes are being taken away, Zelenskyy said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
The head of state emphasised that wars end honestly when the evil that gave rise to them is extinguished.
And that's why the sense of justice and the desire for peace should go hand in hand. This requires, in particular, not to forget about Crimea. Fight for Crimea. To oppose the evil that Russia brought to Crimea, and then tried to spread throughout Ukraine and wants to spread also on the lands of other nations, he continued.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine should build up real opposition to Russian evil "at all levels, all over the world."
We have to fight for people in Crimea and in all other occupied parts of Ukraine. We must fight for the full restoration of the international law force — the force in relation to Crimea, and therefore to any other land. We have to fight for the fundamental right of the Crimean Tatar people, like any other people, the right to live in their own home, he continued.
Zelenskyy noted that to win in each of these points "is to extinguish Russian revanchism, that is to end the war."
I'm grateful to everyone who does not forget about Crimea, who helps our efforts regarding Crimea. Who helps our soldiers. Who is fighting in Crimea against the occupiers. Who doesn't give his soul to Russian evil. Who helps free people who were repressed by the Russian regime, who supports these people and preserves their faith — faith in justice, in its power, in Ukraine. The return of all our prisoners, the return of all deportees from Ukraine, the return of Crimean political prisoners is our absolute priority. I am grateful to all the countries that help us with this, — Ukraine's president summarised.
What is known about Russia's occupation of Crimea
The Ukrainian Crimean peninsula was occupied by the Russian Federation in 2014.
In Oct 2023, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Crimea, captured by the Russians, will probably be de-occupied more easily than Donbas. It is not only about the liberation of territories, but also about the mental return of people to Ukraine.
In particular, although the Ukrainian troops have not yet been able to return the Russian-occupied Crimea under the control of our state, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have already achieved specific results in the work on the liberation of the peninsula.
On Feb 14, Ukrainian naval drones sank the large landing ship "Caesar Kunikov" near Alupka in Crimea. On Jan 31, the R-334 "Ivanovets" missile corvette was sunk on Lake Donuzlav, and on Dec 26, 2023, the large landing ship "Novocherkassk" was struck by "Storm Shadow" missiles.
At the same time, the NSDC is already developing a plan that will be used during the deoccupation of Ukrainian Crimea. It includes 12 steps.
