It has been 9 and a half years since armed men in unmarked uniforms seized the buildings of the Crimean Supreme Council, the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, as well as the airports in Simferopol and the Kerch ferry crossing, among other strategic objects. Russian President Vladimir Putin later admitted that these were Russian military actions. After an internationally unrecognized «referendum» on the status of the peninsula, which resulted in Russia incorporating Crimea, President Putin declared the «annexation» of Crimea to Russia on March 18. International organizations condemned Russia’s actions and recognized the occupation and annexation of Crimea as illegal. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared February 20, 2014, as the start of the temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia.
During his speech at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2020, Ukrainian President Zelensky called on countries around the world to participate in the creation of the International «Crimean Platform.» In March 2021, Volodymyr Zelensky approved, by his decree, the «Strategy for De-occupation and Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Crimea,» which includes diplomatic and military measures to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
The «Crimean Platform» is an international consultative and coordination format aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of the international response to the occupation of Crimea and growing security threats, increasing international pressure on the Kremlin, preventing further human rights violations, and protecting victims of the occupation regime. The main goal of the platform is the de-occupation of Crimea and its return to Ukraine. The platform officially started its functioning at the inaugural summit in Kyiv on August 23, 2021, where a joint declaration was adopted, outlining the key parameters of international policy towards Crimea.
Amid the ongoing full-scale Russian military invasion, it was decided to hold the second summit of the International «Crimean Platform.» It took place on August 23, 2022, in an online format, with the participation of 59 countries and international organizations. The summit’s outcome was a joint statement, which strongly condemned Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion, particularly its use of the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula and Ukrainian territorial waters for war against Ukraine. During the second summit, it became evident that the perspective of de-occupation of the peninsula was increasingly seen as realistic, not only in Ukraine but also abroad. The rhetoric shifted towards supporting the military path of returning Crimea under Kyiv’s control, and many participants openly spoke about supporting Kyiv militarily in the context of liberating the peninsula. Successful efforts by the Ukrainian armed forces to physically move military operations into the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea were noted. This included successful missile and bomb strikes on Crimean airbases, oil storage facilities, logistics centers, and ammunition depots. The aggressor felt that the peninsula was no longer a safe rear area for them.
In October of the same year, the first parliamentary summit of the International «Crimean Platform» was held in Zagreb, Croatia, with the participation of delegations from over 50 countries and international institutions. Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, hosted the participants of the second parliamentary summit at the end of October. Currently, the determination of the countries invited to participate in the forum continues, and the event plans to involve witnesses of Russian military crimes in Crimea.
The third international summit of the «Crimean Platform» will take place in a hybrid format on August 23 of this year in Kyiv. Currently, the «Crimean Platform» includes 61 countries and international organizations. The task before the organizers of the summit is to expand the geography of participants. The increasing number of participants in the «Crimean Platform» and its global reach indicate that the entire civilized world is on the side of Ukraine in the matter of Crimea’s return, and ultimately justice will be restored, and Crimea was, is, and will be part of Ukraine.