MFA on Crimea: Theft is always temporary

This is claimed in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's statement on the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of Crimea, Ukrinform reports.

According to the statement, the return of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is an integral part of restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and restoring comprehensive, just, and lasting peace.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also notes that the occupation and militarization of Crimea have destabilized the security situation throughout the Black Sea region.

“Only the return of the peninsula to Ukraine will restore the necessary stability, peace, and security for all States of the region. The Black Sea must be a space of cooperation, trade, and prosperity – not of war, threats, and instability,” the MFA emphasized.

Ukraine also expresses its gratitude to its international partners for supporting the protection of life, freedom, and justice against aggression and terror. The Ministry thanks the countries and international organizations that participate in the activities of the International Crimea Platform and constantly remind the world that Ukrainian citizens in Crimea are fighting against the occupiers, that they cannot be broken, and that the Crimean Peninsula is an integral part of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine calls on the international community, all states, and international organizations to strictly adhere to the policy of non-recognition of the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

“We urge them not to allow any actions or contacts that might call this policy into question. We call for maintaining and strengthening international pressure on the occupation administrations and those responsible for human rights violations and other systemic crimes on the peninsula,” the statement reads.

The Ministry also calls on the international community to keep Russian crimes against our people in the occupied territories in focus and to make every effort to return people who the occupiers from Russian prisons have illegally imprisoned, and the stolen peninsula to its rightful owner.

“Theft is always temporary. Crimea is Ukraine!” the foreign ministry stated.

As is well known, February 26 is observed in Ukraine as the Day of Resistance to the Occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol, a commemorative date established in honor of the mass pro-Ukrainian rally in Simferopol in 2014.