In occupied Crimea, a man was sentenced to 12 years for intending to join the Armed Forces

Repressions against pro-Ukrainian residents have intensified in the occupied Crimea, with people being kidnapped, sentenced to years of imprisonment, and fabricated cases on trumped-up charges. During the week, there were sentences of 12 and 20 years in prison, cases of support for the Armed Forces and Azov, and the disappearance of a person after a visit by the FSB.

This was reported by Suspilne.Krym.

A local resident, Serhiy Grishchenkov, disappeared in Sevastopol - on the night of May 6-7, he was detained by persons who introduced themselves as Russian FSB officers, after which the man was taken in an unknown direction. His family still does not know where he is.

In Yalta, the occupation court sentenced a man to 12 years in prison who was accused of trying to travel to the territory controlled by Ukraine to join the Armed Forces. The "evidence" includes a computer and communications equipment seized from his home.

Another Crimean resident will be tried for allegedly providing financial support to the Azov regiment, which involved transferring UAH 3,000 through a Ukrainian bank. The occupation prosecutor's office has already submitted the case to court.

A resident was detained in the Chornomorsky district on suspicion of cooperation with Ukrainian special services. The investigation claims that he passed on information about the location of Russian military facilities on the peninsula from 2022 to 2023.

A resident of Dzhankoy received the most severe punishment - 20 years in prison. He was found guilty of "high treason" for his communication with a representative of the SBU. Almost two more years of restriction of liberty and a fine of 300 thousand rubles were added to his prison term.

These cases are only part of a broader campaign of pressure on Crimean residents, including those who express sympathy for Ukraine or try to resist the occupation regime.

The Kremlin's repressive policy punishes any manifestation of Ukrainian identity, from commenting on social media to participating in human rights activities. For more than two years, the law on "discrediting the Russian army" has been in effect in Crimea, which is used to persecute dissenters. People are fined, detained, searched, and imprisoned for songs, publications, or even individual statements. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, at least 1,350 cases have been opened under this article - almost half of them involve women.

Анна Бальчінос