28 February 2026
(PHOTO: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh)
A rally in support of Crimean Tatars, who have been held hostage by the Russian Federation since 2014, was held on February 28 in the center of Odesa on Deribasovskaya Street.
As the organizer of the action, mystic and activist Aziza Eskender, told an Intent correspondent, the action is called "Mute Cry" and is dedicated to Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov, who went on a single picket against the occupation of Crimea by Russia on March 3, 2014 and disappeared. On March 15 of the same year, Reshat Ametov was found dead in the village of Zemlianichne, Belogorsk district, 60 kilometers from Simferopol. The man's body showed numerous signs of torture, his head was tied with duct tape, his eyes were gouged out, and handcuffs were lying next to him. The cause of death was a stab wound to the eye.
"The action is dedicated specifically to Reshat Ametov and all the Crimean hostages of Russia - all political prisoners, those who were kidnapped, all those who are under occupation amidst silent terror. It is about what is happening in the shadows, beyond the limits of everything human. This is a call to every person in Ukraine to fight for Crimea. To fight for the Crimean hostages. For all those who are now in hell," Aziza Eskender said.
The activist wrote about his intention to go to the protest on February 28, 2014. In May 2017, Reshat Amet was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
In September 2019, the National Police of Ukraine and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea announced suspicion of Ametov's abduction to Yevhen Skrypnik (the head of the "Crimean self-defense" group, a retired member of the Russian armed forces) and two of his subordinates: Oleksandr Rudenko and Oleksandr Bagliuk. All three suspects were put on the international wanted list.
"There's a sign here that says 'Crimea is the key' and for me, Crimea is the key to understanding many processes now, and I want to talk about it. It is also important for me to speak here in Odesa and in Ukraine because there are very few Crimean Tatars on the territory of mainland Ukraine and they are trapped in the occupation, because their relatives are in Crimea and cannot speak. Therefore, we need the voices of all conscious Ukrainians. We must speak together, because it has already been proven that the more we talk about the Crimean hostages, the more likely we are to free them. That is why I urge every Ukrainian to learn the names of Crimean political prisoners and other hostages of Russia and to talk about them. Because they have only us, and Crimea has only Ukraine. And as we have already realized, only people, their energy, strength, and uninspiration can change anything, because international organizations and institutions are passive," the mystic said.
She emphasized that Crimea is the point where the war began, the first aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the first moment when the world allowed Russia to commit a crime with impunity, which led to a full-scale war.
PHOTO: Intent/Natalia Dovbysh
Кирило Бойко