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People pass a Russian propaganda image in the Crimean capital Simferopol: "Colonization" and "total Russification"

Photo: STRINGER / EPA

In March 2014, Russia annexed Crimea and the inhabitants of the Ukrainian peninsula were declared Russian.

Ten years have passed since then - the Ukrainian Crimean representative Tamila Tasheva draws a bleak conclusion.

"As of February 24, the occupiers have illegally imprisoned 208 people, including 125 Crimean Tatars," the Ukrainian president's permanent representative in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea told the dpa news agency.

She also criticized the “colonization” and “total Russification” of the region.

In February 2014, after the overthrow of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who was loyal to Moscow, Russia began sending “green people,” soldiers without national insignia.

Only later did Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin admit that they were Russian soldiers.

On March 18, Putin sealed the annexation.

“We see growing resistance to the occupation”

Today, as a Russian appendage, Crimea is cut off from the outside world and depends economically on the occupying power, said Tasheva.

Above all, this made life significantly more expensive for people.

"We see growing resistance to the occupation," said Tasheva.

The human rights situation has continued to deteriorate, especially for the Muslim Crimean Tatars, who once had their own parliament.

They are being persecuted politically, there are house searches, and Crimean Tatar media are closed.

Tens of thousands of Crimean Tatars also fled abroad in September 2022 as part of the controversial Russian forced mobilization for war.

"Around 70,000 Crimean residents have left the peninsula, while, according to various estimates, 500,000 to 800,000 Russians have settled," she said.

According to official figures, Crimea has more than two million inhabitants.

Such a massive increase is not documented by Russian statistics.

They show an increase of a good 100,000 inhabitants compared to the Ukrainian statistics before the annexation.

Tasheva stressed that there can only be peace if Ukraine returns Crimea and all other territories occupied by Russia.

"If we make concessions to the aggressor and ignore the violations of international law, then we only increase the threat and the danger," she said.

Accordingly, she does not believe that the nuclear power will implement its nuclear threats.

»Russia will not use nuclear weapons because Putin understands that then there will be no turning back.

Then the entire system that he illegally created in the occupied territories will be destroyed.

mrc/dpa