The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its strong protest over the failure of the Russian side to provide Server Mustafayev — the Ukrainian citizen illegally detained on the territory of the Russian Federation — with the necessary medical examination and treatment.

During recent days, Server has been experiencing fever, dry cough, severe headache, and weakness throughout the body. Given the pandemic of the new type of coronavirus infection COVID-19, these are alarming symptoms ignored by the Russian side.

For almost two years, Server Mustafayev, a Crimean Tatar and civic activist, has been illegally detained by Russia for political reasons on fabricated charges of terrorist activity. The Russian Federation deliberately neglects his grave health conditions and tries to conceal them.

We urge immediate medical examination of the Ukrainian citizen S.Mustafayev in a specialized medical facility in accordance with international standards, aimed, in particular, to exclude a possibility of his infection with COVID-19, as well as providing qualified medical assistance in place of detention.

There is a concern that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health security in Russia's prisons and occupied territories might be systemic, posing a severe threat to the health and life of illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.

The challenge of the pandemic of the new virus, which does not respect borders and nationality, is a good opportunity for the Russian Federation to recall the universal values and norms of international law.

We call on the international community to step up political, economic and sanctions pressure on the Russian Federation in order to stop its gross human rights violations and release all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.