The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its categorical protest and outrage over yet another wave of political repressions and human rights violations by the Kremlin regarding the citizens of Ukraine.

The Russian occupation authorities continue the discrimination on national and religious grounds in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, persecuting ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars.

At least five politically motivated sentences of imprisonment were announced, seven people were arrested or fined in Crimea over the past month. Also, at least three searches in the houses of the Crimean Tatars were conducted over the past week.

The cynical mass searches, a time-tested NKVD practice, as well as a series of arrests of those supported the 76-year-old Server Karametov who was arrested for the picket, are evidence of the continuation of the Kremlin regime’s bold attack against everyone who disagree with the occupation.

Despite numerous appeals by Ukraine and the international community demanding the immediate release of all illegally detained and sentenced Ukrainians, the Russian leadership continues a shameful practice of using Ukrainian citizens as the hostages of its aggressive policy against our state, making false accusations.

We express grave concern regarding the deteriorated health of the Ukrainian citizen Ruslan Zeitullayev, illegally sentenced on the territory of Russia, who on July 27, 2017, began another hunger strike to protest against Russian legal arbitrariness due to his unjustified sentencing to 15 years of deprivation of liberty. We demand that Russian side immediately allow Ruslan Zeitullayev to be examined by Ukrainian doctors.

Ukraine is demanding that the Russian Federation release all illegally detained citizens of Ukraine immediately and without any further preconditions, and cease the practice of political persecutions and repressions against our compatriots.