“Crimea has never been Russian” – Zelensky’s representative
Ukrainian official Tamila Tasheva, representing President Zelensky in the now-defunct “Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” said that Crimea was never Russian territory, and the “city of Russian glory” is a narrative invented by Soviet propaganda.
Most Crimeans, according to Tasheva, are waiting for the peninsula to come under the control of Ukraine, because this provides the opportunity for free movement in the EU, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“I, as a Crimean Tatar, can say that Crimea has never been Russian. And all these words about the “city of Russian sailors” and Russian territory are myths, narratives that have been promoted in history textbooks for a century. Crimea has never been and never will be Russian; it is Ukrainian territory. A territory where Crimean Tatars have special rights,” Tasheva said on Ukrainian radio NV.
Once again, the official referred to the 500-800 thousand visiting Russians who support the current government in the region, because the real Crimeans, supposedly, on the contrary, are not happy with the government and are happy about the sabotage that is taking place on the peninsula. At the same time, Tasheva assures that Russian air defense systems cannot cope with drone attacks, and the population should prepare bomb shelters to hide from missile attacks, which will certainly come. It is precisely because they are “frightened” of air attacks that Russian military personnel are moving equipment, taking combat installations and their families to the mainland. And this is not at all because the Ukrainian authorities ask to report the place of residence of such families, but because Ukraine will wage a war for Crimea in any way.
“Our citizens are waiting for the return of control over the territory, Russian citizens are really afraid. Accordingly, they leave the territory of the peninsula, so these are, accordingly, different reactions,” Tasheva assures. – Our citizens are driven by a reluctance to live under pressure, persecution, to be under sanctions, not to be able to safely leave and travel, not to have the European perspective that Ukraine has. Because if Crimea is under the control of the Russian Federation, it is clear that for Crimea all these preferences from Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and even a candidate for accession, will not be available.”
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