Ukraine May Establish a Day to Protect the Rights of the Ukrainian Community in Crimea
The Verkhovna Rada is considering establishing a new commemorative day—the Day of the Protection of the Rights of the Ukrainian Community in Crimea. Lawmakers propose observing it annually on August 28 to draw attention to the history, rights, and preservation of the Ukrainian identity of the residents of the occupied peninsula.
Draft Resolution No. 15451, “On Establishing the Day for the Protection of the Rights of the Ukrainian Community in Crimea,” has been registered with the Verkhovna Rada. The document provides for the annual observance of this date on August 28.
The aim of the initiative is to implement state policy in the sphere of national memory by commemorating the struggle to preserve Ukrainian identity in Crimea, protecting the rights and honoring Ukrainians—both those who were forced to leave the peninsula and those who, under conditions of temporary occupation, resist daily and preserve their identity—as well as paying due tribute to the courage of Ukrainian soldiers native to Crimea.
The authors of the bill emphasize that for centuries, the Russian Empire, the USSR, and now the Russian Federation have pursued a policy of colonizing the Crimean Peninsula and imposing a Russian identity. At the same time, Ukrainian identity in Crimea has developed over the years as one that respects equality and coexists peacefully with the cultures of Ukraine’s indigenous peoples—the Crimean Tatars, Karaites, and Krymchaks—shaping the unique character of an inclusive society.
Today, thousands of unlawful cases against Ukrainians constitute a direct form of repression targeting Ukrainian identity. At the same time, thousands of Crimean natives who were forced to leave their homes are now taking up arms to defend Ukraine’s independence in the ranks of the Defense Forces.
The date of August 28, which is proposed to be designated as the Day of the Protection of the Rights of the Ukrainian Community of Crimea, is linked to a historic event in 1918. It was on this day that the first congress of Ukrainian organizations in Crimea took place and the Regional Ukrainian Council, headed by Pavlo Goryansky, was established, according to the Judicial and Legal Gazette.
As a reminder, on the night of July 29, the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out strikes against a number of military and infrastructure targets on the territory of Russia and in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Among the targets struck were the Ryazan Oil Refinery, a base for Russian Black Sea Fleet vessels, a radar station, and military logistics facilities.
SBU drones struck the Lukoil oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,500 km from Ukraine.
On July 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced new results of strikes against Russian facilities used to support and prolong the war against Ukraine.
