Chubarov recalled that before the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, there were about 300,000 Crimean Tatars living on the peninsula, constituting 13% of all its inhabitants.

“Many left due to persecution. People fear for their lives, the lives of their children, and their loved ones. But there are also those who, for various reasons, simply cannot leave. My mother is over 90 years old. She remained in Crimea, and I haven’t had the opportunity to see her all these years,” Chubarov said.

He emphasized that a particularly large number of Crimean Tatars left in September 2022, when the occupying authorities announced mobilization.

“Men fled to avoid conscription. Many left with their families, some left alone,” said Chubarov, who is also a member of the Ukrainian parliament. The Russian occupying authorities banned him from entering the peninsula in 2014.

The Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in March 2014 following armed intervention and an illegal referendum.

Authorities in Kyiv and the West condemned these actions by the Kremlin as a violation of international law.

Russia banned the activities of the Mejlis, and its leaders were forced to leave the peninsula. Crimean Tatars are being constantly discriminated against by Russian authorities and forcibly removed from their own lands. Their homes are searched, and activists are kidnapped or arrested on charges of terrorism.

In recent months, Ukrainian forces have increasingly targeted objectives in Crimea and the Black Sea, destroying Russian bases, warehouses, and ships.