Starting from April 1, the 19th illegal conscription campaign has started in the occupied Crimea
Residents of the peninsula, citizens of Ukraine, are once again trying to avoid illegal conscription.
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A conscription campaign for Russian military service will continue in Crimea / Photo: Wikipedia
Russia has launched another illegal conscription campaign in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.
This is stated in the statement of the Representative Office of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
"Starting today, the 19th illegal conscription campaign for military service will take place in the Russian Federation, including in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Since 2015, 18 illegal conscription campaigns have been held in the temporarily occupied Crimea, during which about 44.5 thousand conscripts were drafted into the armed forces of the occupying state," the Representative Office reported on April 1.
According to the Representative Office, residents of the peninsula, citizens of Ukraine, are once again trying to avoid illegal conscription, however, the occupting administrations will try to force them through the mechanisms of criminal prosecution. There are already 520 known cases, of which 206 after 24.02.2022, which is 40%.
"We emphasize that such actions by the representatives of the aggressor state are a systemic war crime and we remind that the conscription of residents of the occupied territories into the ranks of the armed forces by the occupiers, the systematic propaganda of service in the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of Crimea, as well as the displacement of Ukrainian citizens from the occupied territory to the territory of Russia violate the provisions of the Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War," the statement said.
The Representative Office also reminded that the illegal conscription campaign of the Russian Federation in Crimea and the criminal prosecution of citizens for evasion of conscription are condemned by the international community, including in the resolutions of the UN General Assembly of December 18, 2019, and December 16, 2020, "The Situation of Human Rights in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol".
"We call on the citizens of Ukraine who are being forced into service in the armed forces of the occupying state to report instances of illegal conscription. The collected evidence will help in documenting and holding accountable those responsible for organizing illegal conscriptions in Crimea, as well as in protecting our citizens who are victims of war crimes," the representatives of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea emphasized.
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