May 18, 2026 marks the 82nd anniversary of the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatar people – one of the most brutal crimes of the Stalinist totalitarian regime and an act of genocide against the indigenous people of Crimea. 

In May 1944, under the false pretext of alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany, the Soviet regime carried out a deliberate act aimed at destroying the Crimean Tatar people as a national community – depriving them of their homeland, language, culture, traditions, and historical memory. 

Ukraine has recognized the 1944 deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as an act of genocide. We are grateful to Canada, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Czechia, and the Netherlands for adopting similar decisions, restoring historical justice and honoring the memory of the victims of this crime. We call on other countries to join the international recognition of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. 

Following the beginning of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, the occupying authorities continued the persecution and discrimination against Crimean Tatars who remained in their homeland. The ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, fabricated criminal cases, forced passportization, pressure on religious communities, and the creation of unbearable living conditions are all modern forms of Russia’s forced displacement of Ukraine’s indigenous people from their land. Such actions constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and the international legal obligations of the occupying state. 

Ukraine honors the memory of all victims of the deportation and expresses deep respect for the Crimean Tatar people, who, despite decades of repression, preserved their national identity, culture, language, and unwavering aspiration for freedom and justice.

We call on the international community to strengthen consolidated political, diplomatic, sanctions, and legal pressure on the Russian Federation in order to stop human rights violations in temporarily occupied Crimea, secure the release of all unlawfully detained persons, ensure the protection of the rights of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. 

We demand that Russia immediately cease all forms of repression against Crimean Tatars, revoke the illegal ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, release all political prisoners, and comply with its international obligations as an occupying state. 

The memory of the 1944 tragedy remains an inseparable part of our shared history and a warning to the world about the dangers of impunity for totalitarian regimes. Restoring justice, protecting human rights, de-occupying Crimea, and ensuring the return of the Crimean Tatar people to life in freedom on their native land remain our common tasks. 

Crimea is Ukraine. 

Qırım – Ukrainadır. 

Qırım serbest olacaq!