#5 (24) • 2019

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Ambassador Extraordinary and

Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia to

Ukraine Juris Poikans: ‘Mainly, Ideas and

Strategies should Come from the Ukrainian

Government‘pages 4-5

What is Russia Ready to go for the Dnieper Water for Crimea?

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

Russian Interference in the Operation of the Navigation System - a

Threat to the Safety of Navigation

pages 10

TRUTH ABOUT CRIMEA

Cover by Bikers, or how Night Wolves

act in Putin’s Hybrid Warfare

pages 12-13

Crimea Inform Magazine, No. 5 (24). Certificate of State Registration КВ №22665-12565 Р of 04.05.2017.Founder: Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency.

Publisher: PE “Company ”Apollon“, 79054, Lviv, Yavornitskogo, 8/82, tel .: +38 (032) 290-15-80, +38 (067) 671-15-80, e-mail: imperial@mail.lviv.ua.Editor in Chief: Kazdobina Y.

Address of the editorial office: B. Khmelnytskoho, str. 8/16, Kiev, 01001, tel .: (044) 299-00-10; fax: (044) 279-86-65, e-mail: office@ukrinform.ua.Reprint only with written permission of the editorial office.

Published by: Imperial Group Company LLC. Address: 79056, Lviv, Haiduchka, str. 1, tel. +38 (032) 290-15-80, +38 (063) 122-26-25, e-mail: imperial@mail.lviv.uaOrder no. КА--00075-3 from 13.08.2019. Circulation: 2455 copies. Distributed free of charge.

THE TANKER THAT IN ALL LIKELIHOOD SUPPLIED OIL TO THE TEMPORARILY OCCUPIED CRIMEA ARRESTED

On 20 August, servicemen of the Sea Guard, a division of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, togeth-er with officers of the Se-curity Service of Ukraine, complied with the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Kherson region con-cerning the seizure of the Mriya tanker suspected in trafficking oil products to occupied Crimea.The Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Repub-lic of Crimea in Kherson searched the vessel as part of a criminal proceeding instituted for the violation of the temporary occupied territory en-try/exit procedure. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, this same vessel, although under the name of Vilga, in June 2015 delivered fuel to the units of the Black Sea naval fleet of Russia in Sevastopol.On 13 August, the Kherson City Court denied the motion of the vessel detention placed by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Pros-ecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. As a result, according to Marine Traffic, Mriya left the Kherson port and headed to Odesa, to then enter the neutral waters of the Black Sea. On 19 Au-gust, the First Instance decision was cancelled on appeal.The tanker is currently in the territorial waters of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service reports.

12 000 persons crossing both ways

This is an average daily number of people crossing the demarca-

tion line between Ukraine and Crimea in August

IN DOWNTOWN MOSCOW, RUSSIAN ACTIVISTS DEMANDED CRIMEA’S RETURN TO UKRAINEIn Arbat street in Mos-cow, activists belonging to the Stategy-18 action group, staged another series of one-man pickets with demands for the de-occupation of Crimea and the release of Ukrainian sailors, prisoners on the ‘Sentsov list’, and also to express their support of Crimean Tatars.The Crimea Reality website reported this with a reference to Vera Lavreshina, a Russian activist who took part in this initiative.‘We are not losing hope that we may establish a dialogue with the cap-ital’s (Moscow – Editor’s note) residents. At least they are no longer at-tacking us with their fists clenched, having learnt from us that by law it will be necessary to return Crimea back to Ukraine and, what is so important, to the Crimean Tatars. A Crimean Tatar autonomy is re-quired to preserve this characteristic and courageous people. We will continue our flashmob in support of the seriously ill Edem Bekirov and Pavlo Hryb, and for the release of Ukrainian sailors and prisoners en-tered on the ‘Sentsov list’. We will not give up until we achieve our aim. Glory to Ukraine! We believe in our victory,’ said Lavreshina.On the 18th day of each month, the activists involved in the Strategy-18 initiative come out into Moscow’s and St Petersburg’s streets in order to explain about the situation in the annexed Crimea, and to inform Russian society of the true facts and events that have taken place re-garding the violation of human rights and freedoms.

THE OCCUPIERS HANDED THE LAND BELONGING TO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH OF UKRAINE OVER TO ROMAN CATHOLICSThe land allocated in Simferopol to the Cathedral of the Crimean Arch-diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) has been handed over to the Roman Catholic church.The land for construction was allocated before the occupation of Crimea, which can be confirmed by a State Act issued on behalf of Ukraine, ex-plains Klyment, Archbishop of the OCU Crimean Archdiocese. Follow-ing the takeover of Crimea by Russia he made attempts to have this land document reissued under Russian legislation, but never succeeded with this. The unlawful Crimean authorities also refused to provide the name of to whom the land belonging to the OCU Crimean Archdiocese had been handed over.Representatives of the Catholic Church in Crimea confirmed to the Crimea Reality media outlet that they firmly intend to construct a ca-thedral on the disputed site. At the same time, Father Danylo, a mem-ber of this church, underlined that the land had been obtained under a standard procedure for the allocation of land to religious organisations.

‘This is all our land, and we will certainly en-

deavour to return Crimea to Ukraine. I at-

tend international meetings in various

places; in Turkey, Germany, France

– we keep on raising this issue. You

should understand that alongside our

international friends standing up for

our territorial integrity, we ourselves

must also do something to return Crimea

to Ukraine’

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

23 August,

at the International Volunteer and Veterans Forum in Kyiv

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FACTS

For the first time, the Russian authorities in Crimea have admitted economic failure of the peninsula deprived of water supply from Ukraine. This admittance was purely a matter of time: the geography of the natural resources was one of the reasons why the peninsula was transferred to Ukraine in 1954. Today, as a result of the water, electricity, and supply of goods blockade introduced by Kyiv in response to the occupation by Russia, the lack of fresh water may lead to at least the admittance of its occupier status by the Kremlin, with all the ensuing obligations provided for by International Law, if not a return of Crimea to Ukraine.

Water for Crimea: will the Dried-up North Crimean Canal Force Russia to Quit Crimea?

On 12 August, at a meeting held to address ways of improving the investment climate, Georgiy Muradov, the so-called ‘Vice Prime Minister of the Government of Crimea’, asked the leaders of the Russian Federation to sound out the situation for the start of negotiations with Kyiv on fresh water supplies. In an at-tempt to smooth out the path regarding the discord in the ‘Crimea is ours’ toxic ideol-ogeme, Muradov said that the Dnieper water does not belong to Ukraine, because the Dnie-per has its origin in the Russian Smolensk region.On the same day, 12 August, half of the Kerch resi-dents were left without water due to two accidents in the sewerage system and at a pumping station. In the fifth year of occupation It became evident that the Russian occupying authorities are unable to meet the socioeconomic needs of Crimea with-out adequate fresh water supplies.

PROSPECTIVE GHOSTSResidents of Armiansk, in the north of Crimea, are demanding from the Russian authorities in Crimea compensation of 1 million roubles each for damage due to an accident at the Crimean Titanium chemical factory on 24 August 2018. Its production process requires large quantities of fresh water, ie a volume of 42,000 cubic metres, to neutralize the chemical waste in the acid storage tank. After Kyiv had closed off the North Crimean Canal in 2014, the acid storage tank dried up so that the sulphur dioxide (SO2) content of ambient air has exceeded the normal level fivefold. On that occasion 5,000 people were evacuated from Armi-ansk. Nevertheless, on 22 October the production process at the factory was reinstated, as Crimean Titanium is the town’s primary employer.The topography of the Dnieper’s fresh water convinced the Soviet leaders to transfer Crimea to Ukraine in 1954. In 1955 the first reservoir for the fu-ture North Crimean Canal was constructed. Water

supplied via this canal was used not only for agri-cultural needs (during the 5 years of occupation, the area of irrigated lands in Crimea has reduced from 450,000 to 15,000 ha), but it also replenished the water stocks in wells in the steppe soil.Today, groundwater aquifers constitute the only source of fresh water in occupied Crimea. At the same time, the fresh water demands have increased due to the military base, the expansion of the arms industry, and an influx of population from the Rus-sian Federation. Around 20% of Crimean residents do not get sufficient amount of quality water. A continuous increase in groundwater salinity is re-corded, and the lowering of the groundwater table is threatening animal and plant life.Borys Babin, a former Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, believes that the Russian Federation should, for the ben-efit of Crimeans, return the north of Crimea to Ukrainian control – so as to make it possible to discuss the prospects for the restoration of the North Crimean canal. Otherwise towns in this area will eventually become mere ghost towns.

MOSCOW IN SEARCH OF A HYBRID SOLUTIONThe Kremlin is attempting to resolve these prob-lems by using a hybrid method. ‘A demand shall be issued to start a water supply to Crimea with-in 48 hours, otherwise we’ll close off the Dnieper

and make the whole of Ukraine dry up,’ wrote Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a Deputy of the State Duma. Scholars in the Russian Federation had earlier brought up the same idea, and Muradov, speaking about the Dnieper water originating from near Smolensk, reiterated it as a representative of the occupying power.Anton Korynevich, Permanent Represent-ative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, explained in response that Ukraine had closed off a technological facility – not the river. He made it quite clear that Kyiv is ful-

ly entitled to use its national natural resources at its own discretion, and that Moscow cannot dis-cuss Crimea in international negotiations, since Crimea belongs to Ukraine de jure.To justify itself, Moscow has pointed its accusa-tory finger at Kyiv. The occupying authorities in Armiansk, for instance, have permitted a protest meeting on 5 July, with demands to renew the water supplies from Ukraine. In 2018, following the disaster in Armiansk, the Russian Federation rolled out a campaign across the Kherson region, in order to stir up popular discontent by asserting that the Kherson area residents were also suffer-ing from the water blockade. Moreover, Ukraine was accused of violating International Humani-tarian Law.Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean-Tatar people, repeated that a country suffering from an armed aggression and occupa-tion has the right to use its natural resources to resist the occupying forces, and work towards the liberation of the seized territories.According to different sources, the fresh water stocks in Crimea are sufficient to meet the needs of the population. However, it is up to the occu-pying forces, de facto and de jure, responsible for Crimea, to decide whether they should provide for the needs of population, or strengthen their mil-itary base together with the military industrial complex.

3# 5 (24) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Juris Poikāns, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Latvia

to Ukraine: ‘Ideas and Strategies Should Primarily Come from the Ukrainian Government’‘What practical measures does Latvia’s non-recognition policy on the illegal an-nexation of Crimea embrace?‘The non-recognition policy on the an-nexation of the peninsula is of great sig-nificance for Crimea today. You are for a fact aware of the case with Baltic coun-tries. When in 1991 we were reinstating our statehood, the non-recognition pol-icy of the annexation of our countries to the USSR played a great role. Although western countries maintained diplomat-ic relations with the Soviet Union, they never recognized our incorporation into this union.What does it mean in practical terms? Re-lations with Crimea have been truly shat-tered. Although we cannot prohibit our cultural figures, screen personalities, athletes, etcetera from visiting Crimea, we do make a point of informing them of the implications for their relations with Ukraine. There are no economic links in this situation.’

‘You say that you cannot prohibit them from visiting Crimea – why is this?’‘This is because we are a democratic country. Hypothetically, a Latvian na-tional can go to Moscow or St Petersburg and then f ly on to occupied Crimea. We are not able to track this.’

‘Has the attitude of Latvia to Russia seen any changes since Russia’s takeover of Crimea?’Each and every aspect related to the takeover of Crimea by Russia is very im-portant for the security of Europe. It was the first time since 1945 that internation-al standards were treacherously ignored, and this had without a doubt to affect the attitude towards our relations with Rus-sia. This is totally unacceptable for us. Europe’s foundations are built on a com-

mon understanding of international law and international security, and this was a blatant violation.’

‘Was there any reaction at the society lev-el?’‘Our organisations provide humanitar-ian assistance. This includes the reha-bilitation of children that suffered in a war zone and lost their parents; and the rehabilitation of servicemen. We have re-alized that Ukraine today requires help, and we are making every effort to assist in bringing closer the day of the renewal of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.’

‘How large is the Russian-speaking pop-ulation in Latvia, to what extent is it in-tegrated, and is Russia able to somehow bring this factor into play?’As of today, I would not speak about the

Russian-speaking population. In a purely ethnic sense, we have almost 4% of Be-lorussians, around 2 % of Ukrainians, 2% of Poles, and 2% of Lithuanians. In addi-tion, the largest minority group is that of those having Russian nationality. We think it is essential that the members of ethnic minorities feel that they belong, and are a part of, the nationality they represent, and that they are able to ex-press their national identity. There is no common vision of the situ-ation in Ukraine, Crimea, and Donbas. Contrary to Ukraine, we have free access to Russia’s media, and many people are able to see the events in Ukraine as they are portrayed there. We are trying to cre-ate a competitive platform, so that peo-ple are able to analyze the situation and look at it from different points of view. We also receive broadcasts of the Rain TV

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

channel and this is available for viewing by all. We are endeavouring to provide for all conceivable rights of the ethnic mi-norities. Then let each individual make his own mind up as to how he interprets the situation.’

‘And how has the occupation affected Lat-via? How did you view this?’‘This issue is firstly one of a emotional nature. 1940 is not that far back in his-tory. We are too familiar with this situa-tion, when one day you live in one reality, and the next day in another. Secondly, it is only two hours by air dividing Riga from Kyiv. These two hours embrace geopolit-ical changes whose implications for the European continent are understood by us only too well, and are absolutely clear to us. Today, our armed forces have a very high level of positive awareness in our society. One of the outcomes of 2014 was that young people went to study military art. People understood that they most probably would never be in the military, however they were willing to spend their free time with their fiends mastering some new skills. This was a very strong upsurge in activity.’

‘And what steps are taken by the Govern-ment?’‘Primarily, this is an increased financing of the armed forces. Also, a small NATO contingent is today stationed in the Baltic states and Poland. We are also conduct-ing active political consultations with our allies. We, and our allies, are well aware of the importance of the security of Baltic states.I would like to emphasize that the Rus-sian media are from time to time going over the issue of the NATO military infra-structure approaching Russia’s borders. Our colleagues in Russia should heed the implications of the Crimean events for other countries. It was Russia’s policy in Crimea that caused the appearance of a military contingent in the Baltic states and Poland.’

‘What other measures can, in your opin-ion, be taken to stop the Russian aggres-sion?’‘I believe that up to date we have achieved the maximum of what is possible. Euro-pean countries are used to solving any problems between them without using the instruments of war. It should be tak-en into account that WWI and WWII have actually destroyed half of Europe. After

this we were attempting to address any difficult challenges by employing inter-national law and diplomacy. What hap-pened in Crimea is, in this sense, the policy of the 19th c. This is absolutely un-acceptable for Europe. I think this was a definite shock for the members of many countries in Europe. Also, the sanctions policy brought into play at this time is the most that can be accomplished.’

‘Do you believe that the non-recognition policy will be maintained in the future?’ ‘I am sure of this. I see no reason why it should be changed. Europe is based on a common view, and if you turn a blind eye on any violation of international law, it will be impossible later on to stop the next one, or the ones after that. I have no doubt that this policy will be maintained.’

‘The Ukrainian party keeps raising the idea of the setting up of a negotiation platform in relation to Crimea, and thus attempting to resolve this issue through negotiations. Does this idea have any fu-ture in your opinion?’‘This question should rather be ad-dressed to the Ukrainian leaders. It is always helpful to have various platforms and opportunities to exchange views. The question is if this will assist in solv-ing the problem. Now this is the issue of the vision of the future of Crimea by the Ukrainian Government. I believe that the international community will always rely on the official position of Kyiv. Should Ukraine decide that such a platform is needed, we will back its decision.’

‘Do I understand you correctly that the problem lies in attaching more signifi-cance in order to make this issue mean-ingful?’‘To date, the situation surrounding Crimea is very complicated. We have to be realistic in this sense. The efforts taken to make international organisations take a more proactive stance are to my mind appropriate. As of today, creating a plat-form will not result in resolution of the issue. It is now more important to make the Crimean residents understand that they have not been abandoned by the in-ternational community and Ukraine. The success of Ukraine as a state in the long term is of a paramount importance. Re-forms are needed, that will bring qual-itative changes. People are concerned about healthcare, education, and the ju-diciary. If they feel that these issues are tackled more efficiently in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian government, they will then have food for thought. Should Ukraine be seen to be developing actively and rapidly, the people in Crimea will realize that things are moving for-ward and to their benefit, despite all the propaganda tools used on them.’

‘Have any events of the violation of sanc-tions by Latvian companies been report-ed?’‘We have not recorded any up to this time. I know that information sometimes emerges about violations by European companies. However, governments with-in the European Union countries are very sensitive to such reports. I cannot 100

5# 5 (24) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

percent guarantee the absence in Crimea of goods of Latvian origin. We, of course, are trying to inform people about the con-sequences that they might face. Howev-er, when you live in a global world, where goods are actually moving without restric-tions, no-one can offer a 100 percent guar-antee that any violation of the EU sanctions is totally impossible.’

‘Nevertheless, if such an event comes to light, will any penalty or punishment be applied?’‘No definite punishment is awaiting peo-ple visiting Crimea. We should always ask – is it necessary? I think that a ban on en-try into Ukraine is rather a large punish-ment.’

‘And what as regards business?’

‘No concrete events have been reported. Imagine, a new Latvian product is un-veiled in Crimea. If it was brought from mainland Russia, it must surely have come through several intermediaries, and a representative of the Latvian Company would simply say that he knows nothing other than he sold his goods to such and such business Therefore, it is very difficult to provide a 100 percent guarantee.’

‘But the question is – will any punishment follow in the event that a violation of sanc-tions is proved?’‘Yes, punishments will be applied, because these are European sanctions. A fine will be imposed on the violator’s business. We had a tour agency that wished to organ-ize tours to Crimea. Our security servic-es reacted very quickly and closed down

everything. We are actively reacting to the arrival of maps and globes showing Crimea as a part of the Russian Federa-tion. The ordinary customer reacts more often – and shops simply just remove such things. Our security services are not so powerful as to be able to visit each shop. We also had a situation when a musician performed in Crimea – and following this he was not allowed to perform at a festivity in the city of Cēsis. The Foreign Ministry declared that it had given clear warnings to everyone of the consequences, and he could not take part in an event organized by State agencies.At another event, a surfer took part in a surfing competition in Crimea, and the Surfing Federation of Latvia refused to award him a prize for his sporting achieve-ment in this field.’

‘Events like this are very important, as it can be often heard in Ukraine that Europe does nothing proactive other than express its deep concern.’‘To some extent this issue applies to your journalists. It would be impossible to ex-pect us to be running here and there re-porting every single piece of news, includ-ing someone deprived of a prize!Always, when the progress made is slow, more support from the international com-munity is needed. However you have to be more realistic and understand what is pos-sible, and what is impossible. I have already mentioned the case with Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia - they existed for 40 years with almost no hope – and in fact the situation then changed within 5 years. Unfortunately this will not be a quick process. History has not been merciful either to you or to us. However, firstly, the struggle for independence is primarily your strug-gle. However, you were successful in this struggle over the past years. You man-aged to remain strong and to withstand the pressures, and also to build up your capacity. You will always receive support from the international community, but you cannot expect the latter to do everything required instead of you yourselves. The European Union is not that worried about your educational or retirement system. These issues are your concern. Therefore, everything relating to the deoccupation of Crimea and deoccupation of Donbas, in-cluding first of all the relevant ideas and strategies, should come from the Ukrain-ian government. Then, how you can “sell” them to the international community is purely Ukraine’s responsibility.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Maria Tomak, the Media Human Rights Initiative Coordina-tor, notes that the ac-tivists are concerned about a growing lack of response from Ukrainian society and the Internation-al community to the news of further hos-tages and prisoners in the uncontrolled are-as of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, or of the mass detention of Crimean Tatars and activists involved in the Crimean Soli-darity initiative. This was the reason why Ukrainian Human Rights advocates came together to launch the Crimean Captives campaign.Installations containing 121 improvised traps will be set up in the central street of each of the ten cities that Human Rights activists plan to visit during the cam-paign. These traps embody the fates of 97 Ukrainian political prisoners and 24 naval sailors captured by the FSB of Russia in November 2018, near the Crimean shores. A tent will be erected near each installa-tion, where anyone will be able to obtain information about the political prison-ers’ experiences, write a letter to them or put his or her name to a petition. Tetiana Pechonchyk, Head of the ZMINA Human Rights Centre, stresses the importance of not only writing to well-known political prisoners, but to all of them, as a wider attention to all the prisoners is not only a tool allowing us to offer them moral sup-port – but serves as a failsafe deterrent from any violent behaviour.Her words were echoed by Sergei Sharov-Delaunay, a Russian Human

Rights activist, who pointed out, in an interview with the Radio Liberty, that a large number of letters and widespread publicity reduce the risks for political prisoners in penal colonies. ‘The colony administration will think long and hard before inflicting torture and violence on them, as these people are already the fo-cus of public attention,’ he stressed.The visitors will also be able to join the on-line global campaign #SaveOlegSentsov. Its activists organise actions throughout the world, inform International organ-izations as to the fates of political pris-oners, hold letter signing marathons, and make contact with members of PACE and the European Parliament through social media. One of the tasks underlying this campaign is the commitment to saving lives and improving the health of pris-oners until their release. To this end, the #SaveOlegSentsov activists are demand-ing that prisoners are not tortured, are provided with medical aid, have access to physicians, and letters are handed over to them. Thanks to modern information technologies, anyone can take part in this campaign.

To Remember and to Support: Human Rights Activists Launch a National Campaign in Support of the Kremlin captivesA regional tour, in support of Ukrainian political and army prisoners, entitled ‘The Kremlin Captives’, will take place in Ukraine from the beginning of August until mid-October. This action, to be staged by five Human Rights organizations, aims at bringing to the attention of the public the Ukrainian citizens unlawfully held in occupied Crimea and the Russian Federation, expressing support to their families, and showing their solidarity.

7# 5 (24) • 2019 / CRIMEA INFORM

HUMAN RIGHTS

NATURAL INTERFERENCE?This is the background story: the Cap-tain of a commercial vessel reported to the U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Centre an incorrect operation of GPS equipment off the coast of Novorosiysk. To back up his report, he attached photos of his navigation displays, a paper chart show-ing his actual location and GPS-reported position, and his radar display. He also added that if websites such as Marine Traffic be checked, it would be noticed that every so often all ships in the area were shifting inland next to each other.The Navigation Centre checked this sit-uation to make sure that no anomalies in the operation of satellites or in the space weather had been reported, and also that no tests had been executed. The conclu-sion arrived at, therefore, was that this had been a case of outside intervention in the operation of the navigation sys-tem, or a ‘spoofing’ attack against the global positioning system (GPS).GPS signal spoofing is a type of attack whereby a radio transmitter located near to the target replaces the initial signal and sends incorrect GPS data to the user. As a result, an illegal intruder can transmit misleading coordinates, or no data at all.A report entitled ‘Above Us Only Stars - Exposing GPS Spoofing in Russia and Syria’, issued in early April 2019 by the C4ADS non-profit organization based in the USA, firmly establishes the employ-ment, by Russia, of technologies that can disorientate the GPS satellite navigation system, particularly in occupied Crimea. Such actions pose a threat to shipping, since a corrupted signal can prohibit a

sea vessel, or an aircraft, from the cor-rect determination of its position, or from access to the positioning system. This may result in getting into areas that are dangerous for shipping, an un-authorized entry into territorial waters of another country, or an air or sea col-lision, thus endangering the life of both civilians and the military. Such inci-dents also increase the probability of an international conf lict.Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General, referred to such actions as dan-gerous and irresponsible behaviour. ‘We have addressed air safety with Russia several times and this has been an is-sue… of more general concern. And tak-ing into account the importance of GPS signals for both civil aviation, but not least for search and rescue, for emergen-cy services, it is very serious when GPS signals are jammed. To jam GPS signals is dangerous and irresponsible behav-

iour. … This is something which is un-dermining actually the cooperation we have with Russia related to search and rescue,’ the Atlantic Alliance Chief stat-ed during a press conference on the eve of the meeting of NATO Ministers of De-fence on 13-14 February in Brussels.

SCALE OF THE PROBLEMThere have already been allegations of satellite navigation system signal spoof-ing made against Russia. However, its activities in these fields are in fact wider in their scope, more diversified in terms of geography, and have been carried out for a longer period than previously thought. At least, this is as claimed by researchers that revealed and analysed 9883 cases of Russia’s intrusion in the operation of navigation systems of 1311 civilian vessels in 10 locations, using data collected by the International Space Station.

Russian intrusion in the operation of navigation systems poses a threat to the safety of shipping

Еduard Pleshko, PhD in Law, Odesa

In June 2017, huge navigation irregularities were reported in the Black Sea, and these were experienced by at least 22 commercial vessels. The U.S. Maritime Administration even issued an official alert in this respect, to the effect that a maritime incident was reported in the Black Sea in the vicinity of position 44-15.7N, 037-32.9E on June 22, 2017 at 07.10 GMT. The nature of the incident was described as GPS interference. Ships were advised to exercise extreme caution when transiting this area.

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INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

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Analysts cited examples of the obstruc-tion of the operation of the Global Nav-igation Satellite System (GNSS) within the Russian Federation, in Ukraine’s occupied areas, and in Syria. Among other things, a transmitter has been discovered, disrupting GNSS signals in the Black Sea region. It is installed in-side the co-called Putin’s Palace at Cape Idokopas in the Krasnodar Territory in the Russian Federation.Findings by experts of the US Coast Guard Navigation Centre revealed that Russia has strong capabilities to sup-press GPS, and more than 250,000 cell towers in Russia are equipped with spe-cial devices having this function, serv-ing as components of a system of protec-tion against US missile attacks.Users of GPS navigation devices from Ukraine and other countries have on frequent occasions suffered from Rus-sian intrusion in the operation of their devices in aquatic areas of the Black and Azov Seas, and the Kerch Strait. The au-thor of this article has personally ex-perienced such interference to marine navigation on the traverse of Feodosia, where the occupiers are currently re-storing the nuclear weapons storage facility.In February and March 2019, three in-stances of failure of GPS navigation sys-tems and AIS marine tracking system were registered. Information about in-terferences in the operation of these sys-tems has been reported by the crews of commercial vessels heading to the Azov Sea ports. Such an example was regis-tered on the night of 7 March, to the west of the Bilosaraiska shallow spit: captains of civilian vessels reported that their GPS systems were not functioning, de-spite the fact that the Russian GLONASS navigation system continued to function without any failures.

IS THIS ACTIVITY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ILLEGAL?In terms of the law, the employment of devices disrupting the operation of GPS can only be allowed in wartime or dur-ing combat actions. Any such actions targeted at civilian facilities and, in ad-dition, carried out in peace-time, are inadmissible and unwarrantable. Article 3 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation adopted in 1988 states that any person commits an offence if that person unlawfully and intentionally destroys or seriously dam-ages maritime navigational facilities or seriously interferes with their operation, or communicates information which he knows to be false, thereby endangering the safe navigation of a ship, etc. Article 47 of the Constitution of the Inter-national Telecommunication Union reads that the Union Member States agree to take the steps required to prevent the

transmission or circulation of false or deceptive distress, urgency, safety or identification signals, and to collaborate in locating and identifying stations un-der their jurisdiction transmitting such signals.It is absolutely clear, therefore, that spoofing attacks by the Russian Federa-tion against the global positioning sys-tem is yet another of its crimes, in terms of International Law.NATO has already taken heed of such ac-tions. The question now is how rapidly, and timely, the Atlantic Alliance will be able to counteract this new threat and take adequate measures to improve the safety of the navigation system. Emerg-ing for Ukraine there are also significant and pressing legal issues concerning the qualification of actions taken to interfere with controlling a source of heightened safety risk, i.e. ships, vessels, and air-crafts, and a method of response to the threat of marine safety in the region, once such actions are registered.

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INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

The International Convention for the Safe-ty of Life at Sea (SOLAS), adopted in 1974, obliges Ukraine, as a riparian state, to en-sure the safety of vessels in the Black and Azov Seas, whereas Russia acts as if it has annexed the Ukrainian sea waters together with the lands of Crimean Peninsula. Rus-sia’s sovereignty over Crimea has not been recognized by the global community, but nevertheless Moscow violates International Maritime Law and acts as a pirate that has captured a foreign maritime region.

ARE THE SEAS MEANT FOR RUSSIA ALONE?The Kerch Strait Bridge, that has blocked the passage for vessels above 33m in height, was constructed by Russia without any con-sultation or agreement with Ukraine, other Black Sea countries, and the International Maritime Organisation. ‘Their (Russia’s – Editor’s note) ports in the Azov offer small-er navigable draughts compared to even those offered in the Mariupol Port, which no longer is entered by 144 vessels, as was in the past. However, the Russians are per-fectly OK with this,’ explains Kostiantyn Il-nytsky, the founder of the Ports of Ukraine online media outlet. According to him, the passable draught in the Azov Sea has de-creased from 8 to 7.7m due to the Kerch Strait Bridge, and these 30cm mean a large loss of money.

Russian FSB border ships and naval vessels that have undertaken, without authoriza-tion, the provision of navigation safety in the sea around Crimea, are in reality creating an extremely dangerous situation. Russians stop vessels for inspection and detain them at their own discretion. An accumulation of vessels is reported near the aforementioned Kerch Strait bridge.As a result, a ‘pirate zone’ has been created near the Crimean coasts. Here vessel own-ers, having business with countries under sanctions, are ‘laundering cargo’ often put-ting their sailors’ lives at risk. For example, a fire occurred on the Tanzania-flagged Maestro and Candy tankers in January, dur-ing a transhipment of cargo for Syria from one tanker to another, resulting in 10 casu-alties.‘No physical necessity for this existed,’ ex-plains Mykhailo Voitenko, Editor in Chief of the Maritime Bulletin on-line media outlet, in his comment for Crimea.Realities, ‘but when pro-cessing documents it was possible to conceal a dubious seller or buyer in a manner that circumvents sanctions.’ Fire extinguishing and crew rescue operations were carried out by the Russian Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport. No involvement of Ukrainian rescuers was actually possible.

The Russian Federation voluntarily closed access to several areas in the Black Sea (nearly ¼ of the whole area) until the end of August to carry out military exercises, thus endangering international routes to the ports of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine.

UKRAINE SUGGESTS A SOLUTION‘Declaring a restricted region will allow Ukraine to resist the Russian aggression and also to reduce the risk for navigation, and place responsibility onto Russia for those emergencies that are possible due to its criminal activities in the internal and territorial marine waters of Ukraine near the occupied Crimean Peninsula. We can also suppress attempts by the Russians to carry out a mapping of this region,’ says Olexander Shchyptsov, Head of the State Hydrographic Service of Ukraine.His Deputy, Bohdan Ustymenko, adds that thanks to the efforts that Ukraine has made, PRIMAR RENC (Regional ENC Coordinating Centre – Editor’s note) no longer distributes Russian electronic nav-igational charts (ENCs) fully duplicating the Ukrainian ENCs. Currently, there are 32 examples of duplication that can result in a collision of vessels. ‘We are now de-manding that the IC-ENC (the UK) also abstains from distributing Russian ENCs,’ says Ustymenko.

Ukraine is Firmly Set on Closing the Russian ‘Pirate Zone’ near to the Crimean CoastsUkraine intends to create a closed area in its territorial waters surrounding occupied Crimea. This initiative belongs to the State Hydrographic Service, and is aimed at countering illegal activities by the Russian Federation in the Black and Azov Seas. This measure will be instrumental in achieving multiple tasks, from shipping safety to restraining Russia’s military expansion in the sea.

http://hydro.gov.ua/

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INTERNATIONAL SECURITY

PIRATE MININGThe Russian Federation has seized 9 out of 10 gas fields belonging to Ukraine and since 2014 it has ex-tracted from them 9.2 billion cu-bic metres. According to Svitlana Nezhnova, the Director General of the Chornomornaftogaz State-run Company (re-registered in the mainland Ukraine), this volume is sufficient to satisfy the annual de-mand required by every industry within Ukraine.Prior to the annexation of Crimea, Ukraine controlled 130,000 sq. km of the offshore shelf in the Black Sea, where gas reserves of 100 to 300 billion cubic metres have been proven, as reported by the State Geology Service. Also, the Chornomornaf-togaz Ukrainian State-run Company had 4 gas condensate and 2 oil fields on its balance, with total reserves of 1,230,000 tons of gas-eous condensate and 2,530,000 tons of oil. Today, Ukraine is de facto able to exploit only 40,000 sq. km of the shelf and one gas field.After 2014, the Russian Government created a clone of the Ukrainian state-run company - the Russian Chernomorneftegaz, and began actively issuing licences for the exploitation of hydrocarbon fields in the Black and Azov Seas, lying within Ukraine’s exclusive eco-nomic zone.Russians are also employing Ukrainian equipment. The Russian Federation has seized UAH 13 billion (USD 555.7 million) of Ukrainian holdings: the fleet of the Chor-nomornaftogaz company; floating facilities, drilling units, and also sea transport and on-land gas transmission infrastructure.So far, the Russian Federation has no

plans to invest in the development of the seized Ukrainian shelf. Svitlana Nezhno-va describes the condition of the captured Ukrainian mobile offshore drilling units, Petro Hodovanets and Ukraine, in her in-terview with the Crimea. Realities media: ‘… their names were painted over. Judging from their appearance, the drilling units are in a very poor state, compared to what they looked like in 2014. Russians do not in-vest money into the fields and equipment – they are all operated until beyond economic repair.’ The Russian Federation has been forced to stop the unlawful gas mining at the biggest Crimean shelf – the Odesa field – due to proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on the claim by Ukraine against Russia. Nearly 4 billion cu-bic meters of gas were extracted from the Odesa field during 2014... 2017.

‘DUAL PURPOSE’ FIELDSIn Russia’s hands the Ukrainian equipment has been transformed into military radar units, with around 130 servicemen stationed

there on a permanent basis. The mining is carried out un-der guard, provided by war vessels of the Russian Federa-tion. On 1 February 2017, Rus-sian servicemen fired on the Ukrainian military transport aircraft An-26 that was on a training flight in the exclusive economic zone of Ukraine. The aircraft registered Rus-sian radio intelligence sys-tems installed on the seized Ukrainian equipment.Any uncertainties concern-

ing the usage by the Kremlin of Ukrainian facilities on the shelf for military purpos-es have been dispelled since the FSB coast guard began guarding the extraction of sand in the Karkinit Bay of the Black Sea, which lies on the demarcation line between Crimea and the Kherson region. The Rus-sians extract from there around one thou-sand tons of sand per day. In such a manner the Russian Federation is monitoring the above-water and underwater situation, and regulating the traffic of vessels to Ukrainian ports in the Black and Azov Seas.The rationale underlying the pirate de-velopment of the Ukrainian hydrocarbon fields, of which Russia with its gas and oil reserves has no need, has now become clear. ‘On the agenda of the Russian Federation is the further occupation of the offshore shelf and the exclusive economic zone of Ukraine, the expulsion of NATO from the Black Sea, and making sure that Turkey and Bulgaria feel a compulsion to buy the gas, considers Andriy Klymenko, an expert of the Maidan of Foreign Affairs NGO.

‘Dual Purpse’ Shelf or how Russia Develops Offshore Hydrocarbone Rserves Stolen from UkraineThe Russian Federation is mining hydrocarbons in Ukrainian fields in the Black and Azov Seas, and even near to the coasts of mainland Ukraine. This is in contravention of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Whilst the occupation of Crimea was at least cloaked in a non-recognised referendum, held in March 2014 under extreme coercion, the actions of Russia on the sea are pirate-like: having seized Ukrainian reserves it is exploiting them voraciously.

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INTERNATIONAL LAW

Putin began his visit to Crimea on 10-12 August riding an Ural motorcycle, togeth-er with the so-called leaders of Crimea and Sevastopol following behind and in sidecars, in front of a convoy of bikers at the open-ing of the Babylon’s Shadow bike show. He addressed the gathering with a welcome speech, in which he thanked those ‘such cool guys’ for serving as patriotic role models for young people. On that day, the worlds’ media reported the arrests of thousands of people in Moscow, when the police were breaking up a rally protesting against a denial in reg-istration for independent candidates in the upcoming City Assembly elections. President Putin did not comment on these protests.

BIKER IN THE SERVICE OF THE POWERAs from 2009, Zaldostanov (known as the ‘Surgeon’ among bikers), the founder and all-

time President of the Night Wolves, has been actively promoting the ‘Russian world’, an ideological mixture of State patriotism and Russian Orthodoxy. It might even be possible that the Head of the State Russian Orthodox Church, Cyril, pushed him into it. The Sur-geon became close to him after he had em-braced religion following a motorcycle acci-dent.In the same year of 2009, Zaldostanov met with Putin at a motorcycle rally in Sevas-topol. Today, he calls Putin his friend and re-ceives considerable grants from the Federal Budget of the Russian Federation for his club: 130,000 dollars towards Christmas shows for children, and 280,000 dollars towards a playing field in Sevastopol. The Night Wolves has banked more than 1 million dollars in Russian grants from the Russian Govern-ment, according to the Canadian Military Journal (official professional journal of the

Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence).The Night Wolves was actively involved in the occupation of Crimea, and in the military conflict in the East of Ukraine. This was a very close involvement in coordination with the Russian Armed Forces and the Intelli-gence. In Crimea, during February 2014, bik-ers barricaded roads and blocked military units of the Ukrainian armed forces. In Don-bas they were fighting and recruiting volun-teers. Putin awarded a dozen club members, together with their leader Zaldostanov, the medal ‘For the Return of Crimea.’ The USA and Canada have even included the Night Wolves biker club on their sanctions list.

NEITHER BIKERS, NOR PILGRIMSThe Night Wolves members have nothing in common with bikers as generally under-

Using Bikers as a Cover, or How the ‘Night Wolves’ Act in Putin’s Hybrid Warfare

NIGHT WOLVES – NETWORK STRUCTURE

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally attended the 10th Biker Festival in Sevastopol, organised by the Moscow club, the Night Wolves. This Festival was first held in the Ukrainian Sevastopol in 2009. It was then that an association between Putin and Alexander Zaldostanov, the Club President, began. Before 2014, this biking club, which came into being in 1989 during the decline of the USSR, had turned into a strike group in the Kremlin’s hybrid warfare against Ukraine, allegedly having influence in the EU countries.

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THE TRUTH ABOUT CRIMEA

stood in the classical sense in the West. The New York Times noted that in 2018 they had driven to the Serbian enclave in Bosnia and Herzegovina in cars and microbuses, some-thing that is beyond belief to Americans. This was a 9-day pilgrimage to the Balkans, sponsored by the Kremlin. They combined interspersed visits to Orthodox churches and conversations with chief priests with drinking sessions in the company of Serbian nationalists.Instead, the Night Wolves has much in com-mon with the training centres for the Special Operations Forces. A video report also pub-lished by The New York Times writes about Denis Riauzov, прізвище – РЯУЗОВ a retired officer of the Airborne Forces, who worked, after retirement, for the Russian Intelligence Services, and is on the sanctions list of the USA and Canada. Military training in this centre includes teaching the combatants of the Special Forces the tactics of special oper-ations using live ammunition and other de-vices. Riauzov refers to this as civil self-de-fence.In 2016, the Night Wolves were seen in Mon-tenegro during an attempted coup inspired by the Russian Federation and aimed at preventing the country from accession to NATO.In the summer of 2018, a scandal occurred in Slovakia, related to the Night Wolves’ train-ing centre, where military equipment (IFVs and APCs) was discovered. However, the club members referred to these as ‘museum ex-hibits’. Civilian activists, and several mem-bers of the Slovakian Parliament, demanded the closure of this training centre. They were backed by the President, Andrei Kiska, who

stated that ‘these are not just aficionado mo-torcyclists.’

HYBRID WARFARE ‘ANGELS’The Night Wolves has multiple chapters throughout Russia. Patriotic education, for which Putin keeps lauding the club, is just one area of their activity, and it is really con-centrated in the hands of their President, Zaldostanov, and also the Moscow chapter of which he is the owner. Two more areas, i.e. professional membership and security, are coordinated by the Russian Federation Spe-cial Forces Central Council and the Interna-tional Motorcyclists Association. They have departments of special training, legal and technical support, economic security, devel-opment, and remote security.Matthew A. Lauder, the author of an inves-tigation for the Canadian Military Journal into the Night Wolves’ activities, notes that the Night Wolves is one of only two non-state players permitted by the Russian military to conduct armed operations. Western report-ers have dubbed the Night Wolves ‘Putin’s Angels’, ironically comparing their members to the world’s largest biking club – the Amer-ican Hell’s Angels. In 2015, the Night Wolves chose Europe as their new focus, and initiated a motorcycle rally to Berlin to commemorate the Sovi-et victory over Nazi Germany. Poland then banned them from entering the country, and the action was a failure. However, later on, the motorcycle rally became a regular event.Today, Putin’s Angels is a strike force in the hybrid warfare waged by the Russian Fed-eration, where non-linear military actions constitute the dominant method of conduct,

and NGO members are major players. Among the specific features of non-linear conflicts, western analysts name the ambiguity in treating causes, an artificially created local image of the conflict to conceal a military intervention from outside, information and ideological warfare (obfuscation, deception, and disinformation), and non-sequential phasing of operations to disorient the enemy and its allies. A prolonged and simmering conflict is created in this manner, but in such a way that it does not compel an Internation-al military response.The Kremlin tested all this back in 2014, dur-ing special operations unlawfully conducted to annex Crimea and create a military con-flict in the East of Ukraine. After five years of the hybrid warfare waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the govern-ments of EU countries are still hesitant as to the methods to be employed to constrain the Kremlin’s aggressive foreign policy, in-cluding a response to the activities of Putin’s Night Wolves in their countries.At the last Babylon’s Shadow show in Sev-astopol, the so-called Crimean Governor, Sergei Aksionov, declared that the attend-ance of foreign visitors, including those from the EU, clearly demonstrated a failure of the peninsula isolation efforts, but a triumph of people-to-people diplomacy. Only that such a people-to-people diplomacy suggests the collection of intelligence data, propaganda, organisation of provocations and conflicts with conducting non-linear hostilities, and individual violence, including harassment and murders. Canadian military analysts are warning that the Kremlin will continue to do this, outsourcing Putin’s Angels.

Source: Canadian Military Journal

NIGHT WOLVES – NETWORK STRUCTURE

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THE TRUTH ABOUT CRIMEA

EARLY YEARSA referendum on the autonomy was held in Crimea on 20 January 1991, supported by more than 93%. As soon as the 12 February, the Su-preme Council of the Ukr. SSR changed the status of the Crimean region to the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR) within the Ukr. SSR.On 1 December, the triumphant pan-Ukrain-ian referendum on independence was held. However, the economic downfall, decline in living standards, and political instabil-ity strengthened separatist pressures. In May 1992, the Crimean Parliament adopted the Constitution and proclaimed a sover-eign state, ie the Republic of Crimea, within Ukraine. However, Kyiv succeeded in making an agreement with Simferopol regarding the delimitation of powers, entrenching it in a law adopted on 29 April 1993, and also in having provisions in the Constitution of Crimea tem-pered.In the early 1990s Crimean Tatars deported in 1944 began to return to Crimea in large num-

bers. The Second Kurultai of Crimean Tatars was held in Simferopol on 26…30 June 1991 (the first one was convened on 25 March 1917 only to be dissolved by Bolsheviks in 1918). 255 delegates coming from the whole of the USSR attended the gathering of the highest repre-sentative National body. The Kurultai elected the Mejlis – the high-est Executive body of Crimean Tatars – with Mustafa Dzhemilev as its Chairman, and Re-fat Chubarov as Deputy Chairman. As soon as the 6 July, the Mejlis adopted a decision re the creation of local Mejlis bodies in Crimea – within each local council. In 1991/2, 15 District and 7 City Mejlis bodies were formed.In reinstating the rights of their people, Mejlis leaders succeeded in reaching a compromise with the Ukrainian leaders. Kyiv approved a

State housing construction plan, and Crime-an Tatars did not demand the restitution of the land and property they were deprived of in 1944 upon deportation.In 1994 the first - and the last - Presidential election was held in Crimea. Yuri Meshkov was elected with almost a 73% vote. In the same year, the Russia Bloc won a majority in the parliamentary election in Crimea, receiv-ing 54 mandates. It pursued an aggressively pro-Russian policy.In March 1995, Meshkov attempted a coup d’etat with support from the Russian security services. The Interior Ministry building was seized, and general Kuznetsov was appoint-ed as its head. An attempt to seize the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) building was thwarted by the Alpha special-operations

Crimea in Independent Ukraine: the Story of Resistance Continues24 August marks 28 years of the independence of Ukraine. On that day in 1991, the Parliament (Supreme Council of the Ukr. SSR) adopted the Act proclaiming the independence of Ukraine, that was supported by 90.3% of population at a pan-Ukrainian referendum. The dominant voting pattern in favour of independence was reported in all regions: from 98% in the west and 83% in Donbas to 54% in Crimea and 57% even in pro-Russian Sevastopol. The day-to-day task of building an independent state followed: the economic crisis, forming government institutions and introducing national currency, establishing relationships between regions and Kyiv and between Kyiv and other countries. Crimea in many aspects was the focal point of these challenges.

Yuri Meshkov, the first and the last president of Crimea

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force arriving by air from Kyiv. After the coup attempt was suppressed, the Ukrainian Par-liament liquidated the presidency in Crimea and cancelled the Crimean Constitution of 1992. Crimea received the status of an autono-mous republic, and President Kuchma issued an edict, making the Crimean executive pow-er subordinated to Kyiv. Meshkov escaped to Russia.After this, manifestations of separatism were no longer reported in Crimea.

THE MOSCOW INFLUENCESince the very first days of independence, Moscow was actively intruding in the rela-tions between Kyiv and Simferopol. In May 1992, the Russian Parliament passed a Res-olution on the non-recognition of the trans-fer of the Crimean region to the Ukr. SSR in 1954; and in July 1993 another Resolution on the ‘Russian Federal status of the city of Sev-astopol’. Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, refused to uphold these decisions, stating that Russia cannot go to war with Ukraine. Ukraine applied to the UN Security Council, and the latter unanimously supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine.Debate between the Russian Federation and Ukraine regarding Crimea came to a stand-still after the presence of the Black Sea naval forces in Sevastopol was regulated. In 1995, the Ukrainian and Russian Presidents, Leonid Kuchma and Boris Yeltsin, agreed on the di-vision of naval forces, and in 1997 a bilateral agreement was signed: Russia received 82% of the ships, and Ukraine 18% of the ships, naval bases in six more ports, and 10 naval air bas-

es. The Naval Forces of the Russian Federation had to remain in Sevastopol until 2017 under the lease agreement.

ANNEXATION PREPARATIONS?Territorial disputes between Moscow and Kyiv were revived in 2003, when the Russians started to build a dam, from the Taman Pen-insula in the Krasnodar Territory towards the Ukrainian island of Tuzla which is 3 sq. km in area. It was at this point that President Putin first tested his hybrid methods. He gave as-surances that Russia was only consolidating its coast, rather than constructing a dam.In response, Ukraine stationed a border gar-rison in Tuzla, deployed weapons on alert, and also began an ‘informational control’. Ukrainian border guards displayed a banner on the ‘historical friendship between the peo-

ples’ and gave warnings to the effect that they would be forced to react to the continuing construction seen as an intrusion.Today, looking back at the takeover of Crimea in 2014, many experts view the conflict in 2003 as its ‘dress rehearsal’, as the control of Tuzla, in the deepwater portion of the Kerch Strait, provides an opportunity to control the navigation from the Black Sea to the Azov Sea. Following the Orange Revolution in 2004, Russia made many unsuccessful attempts to stir up separatist ambitions on the peninsula, by sponsoring such organisations as the Eur-asian Youth Union, Proryv (Breakthrough), ‘Sevastopol-Crimea-Russia’ Popular Front, etc.In 2010, Moscow once again attempted to gain a foothold in Crimea by persuading Ukrainian President Yanukovych to sign the so-called Kharkiv Agreement extending the lease term for the Naval Forces of Russia in Sevastopol up to 2042. In return, Yanukovych was promised a discount on imported Russian gas.After the toppling of Yanukovych, resulting from the protests in Kyiv in 2013/4, Moscow took fright thinking that all its attempts to influence the relations of Kyiv with NATO and the EU had been unsuccessful and come to nothing. In February/March 2014, Russia undertook a special operation to take over Crimea, with the deployment of influence measures and special operations forces.Despite the constant interference by Moscow, Crimea continued gradually integrating into Ukraine until 2014. The Russians made up almost 60% of its population before the oc-cupation, but nevertheless, the secessionist pressures in Crimea had been considerably limited so that Russia had no option other than to seize the peninsula by force. Today, Crimea, although occupied, remains a part of Ukraine. The struggle for it is by no means over yet

For the sixth time this year, Crimeans cannot celebrate Independence Day together with

other Ukrainians. However, each year since the Russian occupation of 2014, information

on individual actions appears on social media. This year also, despite repressions by the

occupying authorities, Ukrainian flags appeared on the Crimean shore on the rocks and in

the sea, on the Sevastopol railway station building, and in the sky over Feodosia. In Yalta,

the Yalta-Intourist hotel name was painted in blue and yellow colours. During the civilian

Defenders’ March on Independence Day in Kyiv, the procession of Crimeans, together with

the leaders of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatars at its head, was welcomed with slogans: ‘Crimea

is Ukraine’.

Crimean Tatars leaders on the Veterans March, Kiev, August 24, 2019

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HISTORY AND PRESENT

All those fined were detained on 11 July dur-ing a rally near the building of the Supreme Court in Moscow, to support unlawfully sentenced defendants in the Hizb ut-Tahrir Bakhchisarai case. On that day 46 people were detained by Russian security forces.On 5 August, the Meshchansky District Court in Moscow found three other Crimean

Tatars guilty, and imposed fines amounting to 15,000 roubles each.The first Crimean marathon was initiat-ed by the Crimean Solidarity in 2017, when Crimean Tatars were given administrative fines for one-man protests drawing in hun-dreds of people who came out in solidarity to express their opposition to attempts by

the occupying authorities to depict Crimean Tatars as terrorists. Thousands of Crime-ans then contributed small 10 rouble coins to reach the required amount of the fine.Today, people are raising money, and post-ing photos with banners reading: ‘Unity is worth more than fines and 10 rouble coins’ on their social media pages.

Crimean Marathon: Unity is Worth More than FinesA ‘Marathon’, entitled ‘Unity is Worth More than Fines’, was launched on Facebook at the end of July, on a page of the Crimean Solidarity Crimean civic initiative. This campaign is in response to the sentencing by the Tagansky District Court in Moscow that found 18 Crimean Tatars guilty of violating the established procedure for holding demonstrations, and sentenced them to fines amounting to a total of 360,000 roubles.

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