BRUSSELS – The European Union’s foreign policy chief has marked the fifth anniversary of Russia’s seizure and “illegal annexation” of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula with scathing criticism of the Kremlin.
In a statement issued on March 17, a day before what in Moscow’s eyes is the fifth anniversary of the day Crimea became part of Russia, Federica Mogherini said the EU “remains steadfast in its commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“The European Union reiterates that it does not recognize and continues to condemn this violation of international law,” Ms. Mogherini said. “It remains a direct challenge to international security, with grave implications for the international legal order that protects the territorial integrity, unity, and sovereignty of all states.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin marked the fifth anniversary of what Moscow considers the day Crimea became part of Russia by visiting Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula on March 18.
Ms. Mogherini warned that “Russia’s violations of international law have led to a dangerous increase in tensions at the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov.”
She said Russia’s “unjustified use of force” on November 25, 2018, against the Ukrainian Navy and its seizure of Ukrainian sailors off the coast of Crimea near the Kerch Strait is “a reminder of the negative effects of the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula on regional stability.” She repeated the EU’s call for Russia “to release the illegally captured Ukrainian crew members, vessels, and equipment unconditionally and without further delay.”
Ms. Mogherini also condemned Russia’s construction of the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia’s Taman Peninsula with Crimea, saying the building of the bridge without Ukraine’s consent “constitutes a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” She added: “The EU expects Russia to ensure unhindered and free passage of all ships through the Kerch Strait to and from the Azov Sea, in accordance with international law.”
Ms. Mogherini also said the EU “does not and will not recognize the holding of elections” by Russia on Ukraine’s occupied Crimean peninsula.
“The increasing militarization of the peninsula continues to impact negatively the security situation in the Black Sea region,” she said.
Ms. Mogherini also blamed Moscow for the deteriorating human rights situation in Crimea “since the illegal annexation by the Russian Federation.”
“Residents of the peninsula face systematic restrictions of fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of expression, religion, and association, and the right to peaceful assembly,” she said, noting that international human rights monitors and nongovernmental human rights organizations must have “unimpeded access” to Crimea and its Russian-occupied Black Sea port city of Sevastopol.
“The rights of the Crimean Tatars have been gravely violated through the shutting down of Crimean Tatar media outlets, the banning of the activities of the Mejlis, their self-governing body, and the persecution of its leaders and members of their community,” she said.
Reactions from U.S., NATO
In Washington, Kurt Volker, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine, called the fifth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea a “sad day.”
“This is an illegal occupation, an illegal seizure of territory, and we fundamentally stand behind Ukraine in insisting that its territorial integrity be restored,” Ambassador Volker told journalists.
In a statement, NATO described the annexation of Crimea as “a serious breach of international law and a major challenge to Euro-Atlantic security.”
The Western military alliance’s North Atlantic Council criticized Russia’s “ongoing and wide-ranging military build-up” in Crimea, and raised concerns over its “efforts and stated plans for further military build-up” in the Black Sea region.
The allies also accused the “Russian de facto authorities in illegally annexed Crimea” of carrying out human rights abuses against “Ukrainians, the Crimean Tatars and members of other local communities,” including “extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearances, violence, arbitrary detentions, arrest and torture.”
A public holiday in Crimea
Russian officials have proclaimed March 18 as the Day of Crimea’s Reunification with Russia. In Crimea, it is a public holiday. Posters celebrating the peninsula’s “return to its native land” hung in shop windows and on public transport in the region’s main city of Simferopol.
Mr. Putin used his visit to Crimea to officially open two new power stations, which he said will fully cover the region’s needs after Ukraine cut off energy supplies to the peninsula following its annexation by Moscow.
The power stations in Sevastopol and Symferopol were partially launched last year, but the official inauguration marked the moment they began working at full capacity.
The two power stations were at the center of an international scandal after the German conglomerate Siemens said its power turbines had been installed there without its knowledge and in violation of EU sanctions banning the supply of energy technology to Crimea. The EU widened sanctions against Russian companies and people in 2017 in response to the transfer of the turbines to the Russian-occupied region.
In the evening on March 18, Mr. Putin appeared on stage at an open-air concert in Symferopol after a meeting with selected representatives of civil society.
The Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry protested the Russian president’s visit as a “crude violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels, as well as reports by AP, AFP and DPA.
Copyright 2019, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington DC 20036; www.rferl.org (see https://www.rferl.org/a/mogherini-slams-russia-as-eu-marks-fifth-anniversary-of-crimea-s-illegal-annexation-/29826147.html and https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-to-visit-crimea-to-mark-five-years-since-peninsula-rejoined-russia/29826559.html).