Russia illegally mobilizes 40,000 Crimeans since annexation 

The head of the Crimean Human Rights Group, Olha Skrypnyk, said this on FREEDOM TV on June 18.

In particular, the human rights activist emphasized that Russia is committing an international crime against Ukrainian citizens. All of this has been documented, and evidence has been collected and submitted to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

“In Crimea, this practice began in 2015. That was the first conscription of our citizens into the Russian army. This is a war crime. Russia has no right to conscript in the occupied territories. Our organization, together with the prosecutor's office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, collected evidence, and together with other colleagues we submitted it to the International Criminal Court,” she said.

In addition, according to her, the conscription campaign takes place twice a year on the occupied peninsula, and it is not a contract service, it is a conscription campaign for conscripts. The human rights activist added that there is no way to avoid it, as it threatens criminal prosecution. The punishment ranges from a fine to two years in prison.

“Moreover, even if a person has been punished, he or she still has to serve and is still drafted. According to our data, at least 40,000 Crimeans have been illegally drafted during the entire period of occupation of the peninsula,” she emphasized. 

Skrypnyk added that in 2022, Russia began to hide the number of Crimeans drafted. Probably, the occupying Russian forces sent at least 6,000 people to the army per year.

“In 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin began to hide the number of conscripts. But, again, at least 6,000 people are drafted per year. Most likely, in 2022, more people were drafted than usual,” she added.

Skrypnyk also recalled that in 2022, a parallel campaign, the so-called partial mobilization, also began. This also affected the residents of Crimea and is also an illegal action of the Russian Federation.

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