The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses strong protest and indignation in connection with yet another wave of political repressions and violations of human rights by the Kremlin against the citizens of Ukraine.

The Russian occupying authorities continue to discriminate on national and religious grounds in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, persecuting ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.

Last month, there were at least 5 politically motivated sentences of imprisonment, 7 persons were arrested or fined. Just last week there were at least 3 searches in the houses of the Crimean Tatars.

Tried and tested by NKVD, cynical mass searches, as well as detention of a number of those who advocated for arrested 76 years old Server Karametov demonstrate the ongoing impudent offensive of the Kremlin regime against all dissenting with the occupation.

Despite numerous calls by Ukraine and the international community to immediately release all illegally detained and convicted Ukrainians, the Russian leadership continue shameful practice of using the citizens of Ukraine as hostages of its aggressive policy against our state by presenting them with trumped-up charges. 

We express our grave concern at the deterioration of the health status of Ruslan Zeitullayev, citizen of Ukraine, illegally convicted on the territory of Russia, who, on July 27, 2017 began another hunger strike as a protest against Russian legal arbitrariness in connection with his unjustified sentencing of up to 15 years. We urge the Russian side to immediately allow Ukrainian doctors to examine Ruslan Zeitulaev.

Ukraine urges the Russian Federation to release, immediately and without any additional conditions, all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine as well as to stop the practice of political persecution and repressions against our compatriots.