The prosecutor’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea noted that, in accordance with the international humanitarian law, Crimeans who were drafted to the armed forces of the Russian Federation were victims of illegal actions by officials of the occupying state. This was reported by the press service of the department.
It is noted that since 2015, the occupation power has held 10 illegal draft campaigns to the armed forces, and now, despite quarantine restrictions, it has launched another draft campaign. Over the past years, about 19,000 Crimeans were called up for military service, some of whom served “outside the peninsula” and were involved in international armed conflicts on behalf of the Russian Federation.
“According to the requirements of the international humanitarian law, Crimeans who were called up for service in the armed forces of the Russian Federation, on the contrary, are victims of illegal actions by officials of the occupying state”,- the statement said.
The prosecutor’s office urges residents of the peninsula, who were forced to serve in the armed forces of the Russian Federation, to contact the prosecutor’s office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and assures that such individuals will have exclusively victim status.