Liberation of Kherson and Reaction of Crimean Collaborators

The events that took place in November of this year will bring closer the de-occupation of Crimea.
The liberation of Kherson gave Ukrainians in the occupied Crimea hope for a speedy return to Ukrainian control and an end to the harassment by the Kremlin and Crimean collaborators, which the population has endured for eight years.

The experts of the Association of Reintegration of Crimea analyzed the chronology of events in the occupied Crimea after the liberation of Kherson, focusing on the behavior and intentions of the collaborators.

It should be noted that the Crimean collaborators clearly “felt the prospects”, and shortly before the de-occupation of Kherson, they began to proclaim their “position” in the controlled “media”. In particular, Sergei Aksyonov unlawfully stressed that the criminal “defense” of the Kherson region would allegedly “ensure the security” of the occupied Crimea [1]. We add that at the end of October, the same Sergey Aksenov criminally reported on the “completion of work” on the illegal “evacuation” of Kherson residents to the occupied Crimea [2].

Obviously, the Crimean collaborators then already knew about the aggressor’s plans to leave Kherson and were preparing for this. Of course, we are talking also about the “evacuation” of traitors who have gone to cooperate with the aggressor state.

Although a few days before these events, Sergei Aksenov criminally met in occupied Kherson with the first deputy head of Putin’s administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, to whom he then paid much attention to the “evacuation inspection”, primarily in relation to the few local traitors [4]. It should be assumed that Putin criminally sent his representative in order to “quench” the panicked mood of the collaborators in the occupied Crimea.

After the de-occupation of Kherson, events began to change rapidly. For a while, the criminal “authority” of Crimea literally “disappeared” from the “media space”, and the whispers started in Kremlin about the “shame for Putin”, who recently signed fake and criminal “decrees” about the attempted annexation of the Kherson region.

At the same time, the Foreign Ministry of the aggressor state activated itself, with manipulations on “negotiations on the settlement”, but in fact, the aggressor’s prolonging the armed conflict [3]. Most likely, during this time, the Crimean collaborators tried to understand the possible consequences of the de-occupation of Kherson and prepare plans for an escape to Russia.

Here it should be taken into account that at present the “way of withdrawal” from Crimea to the aggressor state at any “critical moment” is objectively limited. Crimean collaborators also understand that the de-occupation is unlikely to be peaceful [5].

Realizing this, the criminal “authority” of Crimea began to actively disseminate through “local media” criminal and fake narratives about the alleged “obligatory return” of Kherson. At the same time, the fake “speaker” of the Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, acknowledged the approach of the front and criminally declared “the need to strengthen the defense” of the occupied Crimea [6].

In fact, he admitted that Kherson, captured by the invaders, was a kind of “buffer” for the Crimean collaborators. Such a change in rhetoric is quite indicative, because it testifies to the fear of responsibility of the Crimean traitors for the crimes they have committed.

By the way, there are a lot of such crimes. In 2021, Sergey Aksyonov and Vladimir Konstantinov received a notification from the Prosecutor’s Office of the AR of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on suspicion of embezzling public property located on the territory of the occupied peninsula as part of a violation of the laws and customs of war [7]. However, this list is by no means exhaustive, since the Crimean collaborators will also have to answer for racial discrimination against the Crimean Tatar people, the illegal deportation of Ukrainians from Kherson, the sale of stolen Ukrainian grain, and participation in the criminal “mobilization” of Crimean residents.

Moreover, according to available data, the Crimean collaborators are directly involved in the criminal deportation of children and elderly citizens from the Kherson region, whom they also criminally plan to use as hostages [8].

The Crimean collaborators did not forget about the practice of “solving their own problems” at the expense of stolen Ukrainian property. In particular, on the eve of the liberation of Kherson, public transport, medicines and equipment of the “Khersongorvodokanal” enterprise were criminally taken to the occupied Crimea [9]. By a “strange coincidence”, all this is “really lacking” in the occupied Crimea, since local traitors destroyed many economic complexes by their actions in the “municipal sector” of the occupied peninsula.

Also in the occupied Simferopol, the collaborators held a criminal “press conference”, where they stated that the so-called “journalists” from Russian propaganda allegedly “are in danger and require additional protection” from the aggressor [10]. It is very similar to an attempt by Crimean collaborators to show the Kremlin that they are also “in danger” after the liberation of Kherson by Ukraine and to demand “special guarantees” for themselves and their entourage.

Quite quickly, the criminal “authority” of the Crimea moved from hints to practical actions. The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, said that “fortifications” had begun to be built criminally on the occupied peninsula. He also noted a radical change in the occupiers’ rhetoric, from the fact that the peninsula is allegedly “an impregnable fortress” to the discussion of de-occupation this year [11].

It should be assumed that the Crimean collaborators are also thinking about this, therefore, they are forced to actively act illegally in order to “be saved” and avoid punishment. The Crimean collaborators also saw that the Kremlin is withdrawing equipment from the territories where Ukrainian weapons can get [12] and are aware of the risks for the logistical routes of the aggressor troops [13].

Sergei Aksyonov stated that the criminal “fortifications” in the occupied Crimea are being built on “Putin’s order” [14]. Nikolay Patrushev, a key functionary of the Kremlin, also stated that the Crimean criminal “authority” supposedly should “provide an emergency warning system” and “prepare shelters” [19]. This must have somehow “calmed down” the rest of the Crimean collaborators, but it is unlikely that it turned out as planned by the Kremlin.

At the same time, Crimean inhabitants report that the “checks of basements and other shelters” announced on the peninsula are propaganda and “are of no use”, since in most cases no real actions are taken to equip shelters [15] [20], and apart from assurances about allegedly “effectiveness of air defense”, the Crimean collaborators have nothing to offer the local population. It is characteristic that in Russia itself they also began to actively check and prepare bomb shelters, but these measures are more hidden there, than in the occupied Crimea, so as not to “induce panic” among the Russians themselves [21].

This indicates two things. Firstly, the Crimean collaborators are not going to “protect” the local population, and all the “work” is carried out in a showy way, as has often happened under the fake “authority” for the past eight years. Secondly, Sergey Aksyonov and the company do not plan to remain on the occupied peninsula, but they also do not plan to massively “evacuate” Crimean residents, except for a “narrow circle of close associates”.

Along with this, since the middle of summer, near the occupied Kerch, the invaders have been criminally building a whole “military campus” for the “Russia’s National Guard unit”, with the corresponding infrastructure on 35 hectares [16]. The traitors are trying to strengthen their criminal “defense” not only at the expense of Russian soldiers, but also through hidden criminal “mobilization”, which, according to the Crimeans, intensified after the de-occupation of Kherson.

Also, the Russian invaders forcibly involve local residents in the construction of “fortifications” in areas close to the Crimea [17].

Ukraine records relevant gross violations of human rights in the occupied Crimea and documents war crimes [18].

Obviously, the most odious collaborators have already prepared their “retreat routes” to Russia, where they own real estate [22]. They obviously want to repeat the fate of Viktor Yanukovych, whom Putin “sheltered” and is unlikely to voluntarily deport to Ukraine. However, numerous experts argue that such a scenario is unlikely for them [23].

In the process of de-occupation of the Crimea, the criminal “authorities” may face the fate of their colleagues from the newly occupied territories. For example, the fate of the same Kirill Stremousov, whom the Kremlin essentially cynically eliminated, and then “awarded him with an order for courage posthumously” [24]. With a high probability, this is exactly how the Kremlin will act with Crimean collaborators, who know a lot about those who throughout the years of occupation of the peninsula gave criminal orders for the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people, forced mobilization, embezzlement of funds, fraud with land and real estate, illegal deportation of Ukrainians to Russia etc.

Thus, after the liberation of Kherson, the Crimean collaborators realized the complexity of their situation and began to actively use any leverage to “guarantee personal protection.”

We noted that the Crimean collaborators at first were “very cautious” about their statements regarding the de-occupation of Kherson. In this sense, the main criminal “accents” were associated with the alleged “need to provide the occupied Crimea with special security guarantees” from the Kremlin.

It is obvious that at present these guarantees have not been provided, and therefore the fake “authorities” of the Crimea have to remember the old joke that “saving the drowning is the work of the drowning themselves”.

Sources:

1. https://arcrimea.org/en/news/2022/11/08/criminal-deportation-to-occupied-crimea-new-trends/
2. https://www.svoboda.org/a/aksyonov-organizatsiya-vyvoza-lyudey-iz-hersona-zavershena/32105167.html
3. https://apostrophe.ua/ua/article/politics/2022-11-14/hersonskiy-prolet-putina-kogda-vsu-doydut-do-kryima/48982
4. https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2022/10/28/7373899/
5. https://espreso.tv/zvilnennya-khersona-robit-deokupatsiyu-krimu-ostatochno-neminuchoyu-ofitser-zsu-berezovets
6. https://glavcom.ua/country/politics/vidstup-iz-khersona-kremlivski-prikhvosni-u-krimu-rozkhviljuvalisja-pro-svoju-bezpeku-889191.html
7. https://glavcom.ua/news/derzhzradnikam-aksonovu-i-konstantinovu-povidomili-novu-pidozru-738753.html
8. https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/news-khlan-deportatsia-krym/32075479.html
9. https://suspilne.media/305658-vijskovi-rf-vivezli-z-hersona-do-krimu-komunalnij-transport/
10. https://nspu.com.ua/novini/preskonferenciya-v-krimu-zhurnalisti-kolaboranti-i-rosijski-propagandisti-zlyakalisya/
11. https://www.unian.ua/society/chubarov-poyasniv-yak-zvilnennya-hersona-vplinulo-na-okupantiv-u-krimu-12050313.html
12. https://texty.org.ua/articles/108252/zvilnennya-hersonu-klyuch-do-krymu-ta-pivdnya-ukrayiny/
13. https://kontrakty.ua/article/207177
14. https://newsyou.info/2022/11/okkupanty-stroyat-ukrepleniya-v-krymu-foto
15. https://gordonua.com/news/war/krymskie-okkupanty-stroyat-ukrepleniya-na-granice-s-hersonskoy-oblastyu-predstavitelstvo-prezidenta-ukrainy -v-ark-1627131.html
16. https://qirim.news/ru/novosti/v-okkupirovannoj-kerchi-stroyat-gorodok-dlya-rosgvardii/
17. https://tsn.ua/ukrayina/u-krimu-okupanti-buduyut-na-adminmezhi-z-hersonschinoyu-fortifikaciyni-sporudi-i-provodyat-mobilizaciyu-2161792.html
18. https://arcrimea.org/en/news/2022/11/09/crimean-collaborators-decided-to-switch-to-peacebuilding-issues/
19. https://arcrimea.org/en/news/2022/11/07/russian-invaders-began-to-prepare-yevpatoria-for-difficult-winter/
20. https://ru.krymr.com/a/krym-sevastopol-bomboubezhishche/32130401.html
21. https://fakty.ua/ru/410740-rossiya-tajkom-proveryaet-svoi-bomboubezhicsha
22. https://news.obozrevatel.com/economics/kopit-tyisyachu-let-glavarya-okkupantov-kryima-pojmali-na-pokupke-elitnoj-kvartiryi-v-moskve.htm
23. https://24tv.ua/okupovani-teritoriyi-ukrayini-yak-vidbuvatimetsya-zvilnennya_n2120736
24. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/news-63565932