Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia on Friday of carrying out a “repression” of the Crimean Tatar community, pledging to recover the annexed peninsula, on the occasion of the breaking of the Ramadan fast in Kiev.
“Russia’s attempt to subjugate Ukraine… began with the occupation of Crimea, with the repressions against the freedom of Crimea, the Ukrainians and the Crimean Tatars,” he said, speaking to Ukrainian Muslim leaders and ambassadors of Muslim countries.
A community classified as “extremist” by the Kremlin
The Tatar community, which makes up 12-15% of Crimea’s two million people, largely boycotted Moscow’s 2014 membership referendum on its annexation.
In subsequent years, Russian authorities banned the Mejlis, the traditional assembly of Crimea’s Muslim minority, as “extremist” and jailed members of the Tatar community.
“There is no other solution for Ukraine, nor for the world, than to vacate Crimea. We will return to Crimea,” insisted Volodymyr Zelensky, before handing out decorations to several Ukrainian soldiers of the Muslim faith.
The establishment of an official iftar
Speaking at a mosque near kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine was starting a new tradition by hosting an official iftar, the meal to break the daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
“Ukraine is grateful to Muslims in our country and to all members of the Muslim community around the world who, like us, yearn for peace and protection from evil,” he added.
Several Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have positioned themselves as mediators in the Ukrainian conflict, negotiating the agreement between kyiv and Moscow on grain exports and prisoner exchanges.
Russia has a large Muslim minority from regions such as Chechnya and Dagestan, with contingents fighting for the Russian army in Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
