Ukraine’s Black Sea Fleet to expand, eyes NATO base – Mustafa Dzhemilev
After the liberation of Crimea, it will not become a demilitarized zone, with a large Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet establishing there, a MP and the national leader of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, said in an interview with Krym-Realii.
Dzhemilev also expressed hope that a NATO base would be established in Crimea.
"We had many conversations about what Crimea will be like after the end of the war. Even before the full-scale invasion, it was said that it would be a purely resort area, demilitarized. I said: take your time, we have such a neighbor! Most likely, the powerful Black Sea Fleet of Ukraine will be there. And, God willing, if we join NATO, there will be a NATO base," he said.
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The leader of the Crimean Tatar people stated that it is impossible to disarm "in front of a neighbor who is armed to the teeth and also has an eye on our territories."
Prospects for de-occupation of Crimea
On May 16, Tamila Tasheva, the permanent representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea, stated that since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, there has been a noticeable increase in pro-Ukrainian protest activity on the temporarily occupied peninsula.
Read also: Sevastopol in temporarily occupied Crimea comes under overnight drone attack
She clarified that this is monitored through the number of cases under articles on "discrediting the armed forces of Russia." Instances of discrediting include the use of yellow-blue nail polish, displaying Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags, wearing yellow ribbons, and unwillingness to serve in the Russian military, according to Tasheva.
Tasheva said that such statistics indicate that people in Crimea are not willing to tolerate the occupation and are opposing the war.
In April, Defense Express naval expert and retired captain Volodymyr Zablotsky stated that the occupiers had moved the most modern ships from Crimea to Novorossiysk.
In February, retired colonel and pilot-instructor Roman Svitan expressed in an interview with Radio NV that it might be possible to take Crimea into an operational encirclement this year.
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