Russia has recognized the Ukrainian citizenship of Hayser Dzhemilev, son of the Ukrainian MP and leader of the Crimean Tatar People Mustafa Dzhemilev, who was taken to Russia, convicted and imprisoned.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured President Petro Poroshenko that Turkey firmly supports the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
Martial law and next wave of mobilization may be announced in case of serious escalation of hostilities, President Poroshenko said on August 18 when meeting soldiers. Ukrainian troops are ready to repel possible Russian provocations, he asserted.
Russia uses provocations in Crimea to convince the world that the ‘Normandy format’ is ineffective and to make the West lift sanctions, Deputy Prime Minister on European Integration Ivanna Klympush–Tsintsadze said on Hromadske.
Volodymyr Serdiuk, who was named as ’the mastermind of the sabotage and reconnaissance operation’ allegedly conducted by Ukrainian Military Intelligence in Crimea, has said he has no relation to the intelligence services or special operations.
During a closed session on Saturday, August 13, a District Court in Simferopol ruled to detain Andriy Zakhtiy, who is accused of attempting to perpetrate terror attacks in Crimea, for two months as a pretrial restrictive measure.
Ridvan Suleimanov, one of the ‘saboteurs’ whom Russia accuses of planning explosions in Crimea, was arrested by the FSB about three weeks ago, Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov (Refat Çubarov) informed on Facebook.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved an extended sanction list of persons involved in illegal sentencing and other unlawful actions against Ukrainian citizens. The list was tabled with the National Security and Defense Council for endorsement.
On the night of August 11, Russian Special Services again blocked the border crossing on the administrative border between Crimea and Ukraine’s mainland.
Russian law enforcement officers are searching the home of Crimean Tatar Refat Mazalov, the Head of the Election Commission of Qurultay Zair Smedlyayev [Zair Smedlâyev] reports.
Patrol boats and ships have been on 24-hour duty at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay for several days now, Krym Realii reports. According to eyewitnesses, they appeared on August 7, after the events at the administrative border with the occupied Crimea.
Another ‘saboteur from Ukrainian Defense Intelligence’ arrested by the FSB is a Lviv-born resident of Yevpatoria who worked in construction, according to a statement of the Crimean Human Rights Group.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine addressed EU member states, US, Canada, Japan, and the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs asking them to influence Russia in order to avoid a new round of aggression related to the latest events in Crimea.
President Poroshenko has invited the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to increase the number of OSCE monitors on the administrative border with Crimea and to request Russia to let the monitors make inspections in Crimea.
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Volodymyr Yelchenko held an urgent press briefing on the situation in Crimea, following the actions of Russian law enforcement and the statements of Russian president Vladimir Putin.
President Petro Poroshenko said that Russian statements blaming the Ukrainian military for ‘attempts to perform terror attacks’ in Crimea were fantasy in a statement published on Wednesday night, August 10.
The Defense Ministry of Ukraine rejects accusations of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia that Ukrainian Defense Intelligence runs subversive activities in the occupied Crimea.
The Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB) asserts it prevented terrorist acts in the occupied Crimea, allegedly prepared by Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.
The occupying Russian authorities have fully restored border crossings at all three checkpoints on the administrative border with Crimea, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reports.
A court hearing on compulsory hospitalization of Ilmi Umerov, the Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, to a psychiatric ward for forensic psychiatric examination will be held on Thursday.
The Russian occupiers suspended the border crossing on their side of Chongar checkpoint in Crimea, the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service reports. This complicates the situation at the administrative border with Ukraine.
The occupying Crimean authorities are asking tourists to refrain from traveling to the peninsula in the coming days, according to the statement on the website of the Russian-controlled Kerch city administration.
Ukraine increased the level of threat because of Russian activities on the occupied peninsula, while the General Staff is ready to address possible threats.
At about midnight on August 8, the land crossing at Kalanchak checkpoint was suspended again on the side of the annexed Crimea, spokesperson for the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service Oleh Slobodyan informs on Facebook on Monday morning.
A major buildup of Russian military equipment has been documented in the northern Crimean cities of Dzhankoi and Armiansk, and tanks and other weaponry are around Dzhankoi.
At about 7am on Sunday, August 7 the Russian authorities suspended border crossings for individuals and vehicles at the administrative border with Crimea for undisclosed reasons.