Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars will take part in elections to the Duma: the Russian Federation drives itself deeper and deeper into the trap, losing the light of the way out.

Fedir Kyryliuk, Professor of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, DSc (Philosophy), Prof.

Artem Oliinyk, Political Scientist, Assistant Researcher of the Academy of Political Sciences of Ukraine.

Mykola Volkivskyi, Political Expert, President of The First International Ukrainian Foundation of Development.

By holding elections in annexed Crimea, the Kremlin will try to legitimize its aggressive activities.

   Elections to the State Duma can not be considered legitimate, because they will represent candidates from the annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, in addition, will vote residents and temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which will be a convenient tool for victory forces (according to the latest data, more than 600,000 Ukrainians living in Donetsk and Luhansk regions have Russian passports).  All this violates international humanitarian law: intimidation, blackmail, kidnapping, paramilitary control structures, etc.

   In occupied Crimea, there are no mechanisms to protect human rights and the ability to appeal to Russia against illegal actions, because they are completely under the control of law enforcement agencies, and appeal to them leads to risks to the life and health of citizens and their families.

  The Russian authorities disregard not only international law but also their legislation, resulting in mass detentions, and harsh convictions of activists, human rights defenders, and citizens in absentia on baseless charges, including in support of terrorism;  removal of persons in an unknown directions, blackmail of family members, financial extortion and much more.

  The situation with human rights on the temporarily occupied peninsula is only getting worse.  Under various pretexts, mostly under the guise of fighting extremism, the authorities persecute innocent people who dare to openly criticize the actions of services and leaders of the Russian Federation.

   Due to the annexation of the CAR (Crimean Autonomy Republic of Ukraine) there are no effective remedies on the peninsula, and bar associations in Crimea are under the full control of the FSS (Federal Security Service of Russia) and perfectly follow all instructions of the secret service.

   According to the index of democracy in 2020, Russia took an honourable 124th place out of 167 countries on the list.  According to the ratings, the Kremlin is also on the list of authoritarian regimes, which contradicts the statements of the heads of the state about the “democratic system of power”.

   Since the annexation of Crimea in Russia untied his hands to equip a sod swarm.  There is an infrastructure that allows to secretly deliver the necessary weapons to Crimea (Kerch Bridge).  In addition, observers from international organizations are not allowed on the territory of the peninsula (IAEA, UN, OSCE).

   After a series of threats and gross violations of arms control agreements, Russia is unable to justify the high status conferred on it by the UN Charter for Peace and Security as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.  The Kremlin can no longer have the right to carry out this important and honourable mission, as it has long since failed to protect and ensure international peace and security, but only to resolve new conflicts on its own or with the help of satellites.

   The largest interspecific group of Russian troops in Europe is located in occupied Crimea.  Soviet military airfields, missile launch sites, air defence facilities and nuclear weapons storage bases, deep-sea naval bases (including submarines), powerful radar networks, electronic and other means of interventional instruments, guidance systems, and more were restored.  There is also a group for a retaliatory strike is placed, and it fits into their military doctrine.  15 ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea are equipped with the well-known “Caliber” missiles, which can carry a thermonuclear charge and have a range of up to 2600 km, which makes the Black Sea Fleet a very dangerous combat group.

In addition, Iskander-M missile systems equipped with 9M729 quasi-ballistic missiles can hit targets at a distance of up to 2,500 km.  The Treaty on the Elimination of Medium-Range and Short-Range Missiles agreement (DRSMD) between the United States and Russia was terminated, in particular, through Caliber missiles and the Iskander-M complex.  It is worth noting the fact that in Crimea there are strategic Tu-22M3 bombers and tactical Su-34 bombers, which can also carry nuclear charges.  Also, in Crimea began to build 2 warships that will supply the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy.  The waters of the Black and Azov Seas have become more dangerous than the ocean off the coast of Somalia.

  The world must understand that the priority of the Crimean platform is the demilitarization of the region, as this battlefield is a direct threat and challenge to the Alliance.  We call on all states that respect and are committed to global security and stability to openly oppose Russia’s attempts to turn the Black Sea region, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe into the world’s largest test site.

  For your and our freedom!