Ukraine will not cede Crimea and other territories occupied by Russia

On 24 October, the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, said that Ukraine would never give up Crimea or any other temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory, according to UkrInform.

Stefanchuk made the claims during his speech at the Third International Crimea Platform Summit. He highlighted the ongoing struggle against occupation as not only a matter of national sovereignty but also a broader fight for justice, particularly for the Crimean Tatars.

The summit, attended by delegations from around 50 countries, underscores a collective international effort to raise awareness about the implications of Crimea’s occupation on human rights and regional stability. As Ukraine continues to advocate for recognition of its territorial integrity, the global community is urged to support steps aimed at restoring justice and peace in Crimea, reflecting a shared commitment to uphold international law and human rights in the face of aggression.

“We are now 10 years away from the Crimea occupation,” Stefanchuk recalled.

According to the chairman of Ukraine’s Parliament, while the occupying Russian authorities did everything in the past decade to transform Crimea into a military base, alter its ethnic composition, and sow fear among its residents, “Crimea has not been separated from Ukraine even by an inch. It has become even closer, dearer, and more desirable.”

“We will never give up Crimea, just as we will not give up any inch of Ukrainian land temporarily occupied by the aggressor,” Stafanchuk affirmed.

He emphasized that for Ukraine, there is no alternative to liberating Crimea, as “this is our land, and our people live on it.”

Stafanchuk also called on the world to recognize the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 as a genocide organized by the Soviet Union.

Crimean Tatars were deported to the faraway areas of Siberia, the Urals, and Central Asia, where they were left without documents, living under a curfew, and had no right to travel, even to find families.

Difficult living conditions in the settlements, unusual climate, and diseases caused mass illness and deaths among the deported persons. The number of those who suffered during the deportation was reinforced significantly by the lack of medical care.

“The Crimean Tatar people dream of restoring justice, which should include recognizing their deportation as an act of genocide.

Parliaments of Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, and Estonia have already made this recognition. I urge other countries’ parliaments to consider adopting similar resolutions,” Stefanchuk stressed.

Delegations from about 50 countries and six international parliamentary assemblies attended the Third Parliamentary Summit of the Crimea Platform, which opened today in Riga, the Latvian capital.

The International Crimea Platform was established in 2021 as a forum for coordination and consultation among governments, parliaments, foreign ministers, and experts.

It was created to raise awareness among world leaders and the global public about the temporary occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula by Russia, its negative impact on human rights, security in the Black Sea region, global food security, and the rules-based international order.

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