Latest news with #Chubarov
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Crimean Tatar leader advises Russians to urgently leave Crimea: "You might not make it in time"
Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, has strongly advised Russian citizens who are illegally present in temporarily occupied Crimea to leave the peninsula without delay. Source: Chubarov on Telegram Quote: "I am recording this message in Russian on purpose so that it is clear to the citizens of Russia who are illegally present in occupied Crimea. This concerns those who settled in Crimea from 27 February 2014 to the present day. It also concerns those currently in occupied Crimea, so to speak, 'on holiday'. As you are already beginning to realise, the illegally built Kerch Bridge that connects occupied Crimea to the territory of the aggressor country – Russia – will soon be destroyed. And you may find yourselves trapped in a kind of 'pocket'. That is why I strongly recommend you urgently leave the peninsula and go back home to Russia, to the places from which you illegally arrived in occupied Crimea." Details: Chubarov stated his message is not motivated by a desire to protect Russians from the real danger they have willingly exposed themselves to. Quote: "No, the reasons are more prosaic, related to preparations for the liberation of Crimea. If you remain in Crimea by then, Russian generals will inevitably use you as human shields to save their own lives. Believe me, it would not be the first time they have done so. So, citizens of Russia who are illegally in occupied Crimea, do not postpone your departure until tomorrow. You simply might not make it in time." Background: On the morning of 3 June, Ukraine's Security Service (SSU) carried out a special operation that had been in preparation for several months, striking the Crimean Bridge for the third time – this time from underwater. The SSU reported that the explosives with a power of 1,100 kg in TNT equivalent caused significant structural damage at the seabed level. As a result of the explosion, the bridge is now in a critical condition. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Euronews
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
Allies asked Kyiv ‘not to provoke Russia' during Crimea annexation, Mejlis leader tells Euronews
ADVERTISEMENT When Russia first invaded Ukraine and Moscow soldiers entered Crimea in 2014, Ukraine's foreign partners were asking Crimean authorities not to "provoke Russia," Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis told Euronews, rejecting Donald Trump's claims that Ukraine didn't fight for it and "handed over to Russia without a shot being fired" instead. 'All of our partners and allies at the time said that we should not provoke Russia, that they, together with the Ukrainian state, would definitely find forms and ways to resolve this crisis. I am quoting what they told me when I was in the occupied Crimea,' Refat Chubarov said. Chubarov recalled he spoke to the ambassadors of different countries almost every day and nearly all of them told him that they "hoped that the Crimean Tatars would not provoke the Russian military". "Because then there would be pogroms, would be very tragic events, and they would not be able to help civilians," he remembers being told. After the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, Moscow declared the Mejlis — the only authorised representative and executive body of the Crimean Tatar people — an extremist organisation and banned its activities in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. Chubarov was forced to leave the Black Sea peninsula shortly afterwards. In 2021, a Moscow-imposed court sentenced him to six years in prison on fabricated accusations of organising mass riots in 2014 and of issuing calls to "violate Russia's integrity" — the wording used by the Kremlin to describe Crimean Tatars fiercely opposing the annexation. 'Those who reproach us for not resisting should recall the cowardly position of their own states, which acted as guarantors of the security of the Ukrainian state under the Budapest Memorandum', he told Euronews, referring to the US as one of the signatories of the memorandum. By signing the Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons, hoping that other signatories would protect the country. 'But they were afraid, and now they reproach us for not being able to stand up to a nuclear power, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. They reproach us for failing," he explained. "At that time, it was not only and not so much the Ukrainian state failed, but the world failed to stop the aggression of a nuclear state, which is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.' 'Great disrespect' for those killed Another claim by the US president, which angered and shocked Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, is that the peninsula was "handed over to Russia without a shot being fired". Chubarov calls it "a great disrespect for the Ukrainian military, who were killed in the first days of the occupation." 'In the months following the occupation, in May and June, our young people were forcibly abducted. We later found some of them killed, some of them to this day we cannot find, we do not know where they are," he said. "To say that Crimea was taken without a single shot being fired or without a single casualty is simply to disrespect the people who were in that situation and to admit to their ignorance of those events'. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, Russia has not changed its plans to occupy all of Ukraine, according to Chubarov. However, given that Moscow couldn't achieve it in more than three years since the full scale invasion, "Russia will hold on to Crimea until the very end because Putin needs Crimea as a reassurance to the Russian society to calm down the people, given that Russia couldn't achieve anything else in over three years." Related No decision on Crimea can be made without Ukraine and Crimean Tatars, Mejlis leader told Euronews Zelenskyy hits back at Trump's claims he is prolonging war by not ceding land to Russia 'If the president of the United States somehow officially calls Crimea Russian territory, it would be a great excuse for Putin to get out of the mess he's in, and he would personally present it to Russian society as a huge victory,' he added. This would only strengthen the regime in Moscow, and it would not lead to peace, Chubarov concluded.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Crimean Tatar Mejlis rejects any international recognition of Crimea as Russian, chairman says
The Mejlis, the representative body of the Crimean Tatar people, will reject any international recognition of Russian-occupied Crimea as Russian territory, Refat Chubarov, the body's chairman, said in a statement published on Facebook on April 22. Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula that has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Chubarov's statement comes amid reports that the recognition of Crimea as Russian territory is being considered as part of a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war in Ukraine. Any move by the U.S. to recognize the peninsula as Russian would mark a break with a decade of bipartisan consensus in Washington and would violate international law. Chubarov said the Mejlis' stance is grounded in international law and aligns fully with Ukrainian legislation. "Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one can decide the fate of Crimea under any circumstances, except for the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people," he wrote. Russia illegally annexed Crimea following a sham referendum held under military occupation and without international observers. For resisting Russian occupation, Crimean Tatars have come under harsh repression by the Russian occupation authorities. Crimean Tatars are represented by the Mejlis, a high representative and executive body with 33 members, and the Kurultai, a national congress with 350 delegates. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support Us Crimean Tatars, historically the majority on the peninsula before Russia's conquest in 1783, have faced widespread persecution under Russian rule. Since 2014, Moscow has used intimidation, religious profiling, and politically motivated terrorism charges to suppress dissent among Crimean Tatars. Many Crimean Tatars have joined Ukraine's Armed Forces since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, with some serving in the volunteer "Crimea" Battalion formed after the 2014 occupation. Ukraine's response to the U.S. proposal is expected at a follow-up meeting in London on April 23. Washington has indicated it may withdraw from ceasefire efforts in the coming days if no progress is made. Ukrainian lawmakers have also opposed the proposal. Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, warned that recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea would have global consequences "much worse than Munich in 1938." Read also: Trump hopes to 'end war' this week. Here's what you need to know We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chairman of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People: Trump is testing Ukraine with messages about territorial concessions
Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, says that the administration of US President Donald Trump has found itself trapped by its own pro-Russian statements and is now "testing" the Ukrainian authorities with signals about possible territorial concessions from Kyiv in exchange for peace. Source: Chubarov in a comment to the Radio Liberty project Quote: "Trump and his entourage ended up in a trap entirely of their own fault. Just recall the stream of friendly messages towards Putin and Russia that they voiced long before any negotiations began. So Moscow realised it… the full imperial essence of Russia came out into the open. Now, it seems to me – and here I move on to assumptions – the Trump administration is testing the Ukrainian leadership and political class by spreading various messages on the topic of territorial concessions by Ukraine, supposedly necessary to end the Russo-Ukrainian war and achieve lasting peace." Details: Chubarov stressed that Ukraine must maintain a categorical rejection of any, even hypothetical, proposals of territorial concessions in exchange for peace. Quote: "Because it is clear that in such a case there would be neither peace nor a future for the Ukrainian state. Meanwhile, since such provocations will continue, the Ukrainian authorities and politicians should respond firmly in every case when real political figures are behind them." Details: Chubarov reiterated that the Mejlis rejects any form of recognition of Russian control over Crimea – both de facto and de jure. Quote: "Our position, which is fully based on international law and entirely in line with Ukraine's national legislation, is as follows: Crimea is the homeland of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and an integral part of Ukraine. Accordingly, no one and under no circumstances may decide the fate of Crimea except the Ukrainian state and the Crimean Tatar people." Background: On 17 April, negotiations took place in Paris involving Ukraine, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany on ending the Russo-Ukrainian war. The next round of talks is scheduled for this week in London. US President Donald Trump expressed hope that Ukraine and Russia would reach an agreement soon, after which both countries would "start to do big business with the United States of America". The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine is under pressure to respond this week to a range of proposals from the Trump administration on how to end the war in Ukraine. These include the potential US recognition of Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and excluding Kyiv from joining NATO. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Crimean Tatar Rustem Virati dies in Russian penal colony
Rustem Virati, a 60-year-old Crimean Tatar who was imprisoned by the Russians for eight years, has died in a penal colony in the city of Dmitrovgrad, Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast. Source: Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, on Telegram; Crimean Tatar Resource Centre Details: The report says that Rustem Virati is a resident of the Henichesk district of Kherson Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia, who was detained by the Russians in the spring of 2023 after numerous searches in his house. "He was accused of assisting the economic blockade of Crimea, which began in 2015, and of participating in the Crimean Tatar battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan," Chubarov wrote. Chubarov said that after his arrest, Rustem Virati was subjected to numerous tortures and severely beaten. All court hearings were held in closed session. After the sentence of eight years of strict regime, Virati was first taken to Ufa and then to the penal colony in the city of Dmitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Oblast, from where the news of his death came. The family members learned of Rustem Virati's death on 10 February 2025, but the exact date and cause of death have not yet been established. Rustem Virati is survived by his wife and three adult children. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people expressed their sincere condolences to the family and relatives of the deceased. Background: Earlier, the Crimean Solidarity NGO reported that Crimean Tatar human rights activist Riza Izetov, sentenced to 19 years, complained about the harsh conditions of detention in the Yakutsk colony, where he was repeatedly punished with disciplinary punishments. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
