Britain wants to see situation in Ukraine with its own eyes: meeting of Ukrainian civil society with British parliamentarians

On February 23, a meeting of British parliamentarians and civil society was held at the Office of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, which was attended by Human Rights Centre ZMINA advocacy director Alena Lunova. 

Twenty UK parliamentarians, Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea Denys Chystikov, Human Rights Centre ZMINA advocacy director Alena Lunova, Media Initiative for Human Rights co-founder and coordinator Olha Reshetylova, Head of “Almenda” Civic Education Center Valentyna Potapova, Crimean Institute for Strategic Studies coordinator Elmira Ablialimova-Chyihoz, Regional Center for Human Rights lawyer Daryna Pidhorna, and Deputy Head of the Crimean Human Rights Group Volodymyr Chekryhin participated in the meeting. 

Bob Seely, head of the British delegation and co-chairman of the friendship group with Ukraine in the UK Parliament, said that it was important for British representatives to personally see what was happening in Ukraine and to listen to representatives of Ukrainian civil society. 

The delegation members were also interested in whether Ukrainian organizations have links with the temporarily occupied Crimea. They talked about the risks for activists, the criminal mobilization carried out by Russia, the economic situation on the peninsula, the Russian Federation’s deportation of Ukrainian children from the newly occupied territories and their illegal adoption in the Russian Federation, as well as the main narratives of enemy propaganda. The situation of the Crimean Tatars under the occupation was discussed separately. 

Olha Reshetylova noted that the world saw all the “Crimean practices” with the persecution of activists, disappearances, blackmail, and enforced abductions which extended to the newly occupied territories of Ukraine after February 24. 

“Each such meeting is a small contribution to our joint victory and return home. Because the better international partners understand the situation, the more adequate and timely their support can be,” said Alena Lunova. 

Denys Chystikov summed up: “Now the de-occupation of Crimea is closer than ever. Ukraine will fight for all its people and all its lands, including occupied Crimea.”