Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Olena Kovalska took part in a ceremony honoring the memory of Crimean Tatars who died as a result of the Soviet regime’s deportation from Crimea in 1944.
The ceremony was also attended by: Presidential Representative of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Olha Kuryshko, First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochytskyi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Türkiye Nariman Dzhelyalov, leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov, as well as representatives of embassies, religious leaders, Crimean Tatar civic activists, and military personnel.
The memory of the victims was honored with a moment of silence and prayer.
"Today we remember those who did not live to return, who never saw their native land again. Their memory lives in the hearts of everyone who continues the fight for truth, for freedom, and for the right to live in their homeland – in Crimea. Because Crimea is Ukraine," said Olena Kovalska.
The Deputy Head of the Office of the President stressed that since the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has resumed repressions against the Crimean Tatar people. People are persecuted and abducted, criminal cases are fabricated against them, and they are sentenced to decades in prison. Crimean Tatars account for 60% of all politically motivated prosecutions.
"There are now illegal detentions, torture, and political imprisonment. 223 people are being held unlawfully – both in Crimea and in the territory of Russia – 133 of them are Crimean Tatars. That’s why we are constantly trying to reach them and maintain contact," noted Olha Kuryshko.
Refat Chubarov called on the international community to increase pressure on Russia, continue assisting Ukraine, and support the Crimean Tatar people.
"The Crimean Tatar people remain unbroken and unwavering in their dignity and devotion to their homeland – Crimea, which is and will remain an integral part of the Ukrainian state. We remember, we fight, and we will win," concluded the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People.