Muslim battalion to be organized in Ukrainian Armed Forces

Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on the Crimean Tatar people, MP Mustafa Jemilev informed that Ukraine decided to establish a battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine among Muslims.

"The decision was made to establish a Muslim battalion, which will be subordinated to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and will be mainly deployed along the border with Crimea, Kherson region. A pretty fair amount of Chechens, Ingushes, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks and representatives of other nationalities,willing to make a contribution to the cause of defending the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, have already expressed a desire to serve in this battalion,” Jemilevsaid in Ankara (Turkey) at the World Congress of Crimean Tatars.

Note that on August 1 – 2, Ankara, the capital of Turkey,hosted the World Congress of Crimean Tatars. The forum was held outside of Crimean Tatars’ motherland Crimea due to persecutionsof the Crimean Tatars’ activistsby Russian security services. In addition, Mustafa Dzhemilev and RefatChubarov were denied access to the peninsula.

Many Mejlis members also failed to leave Crimea. They were summoned for interrogation in the “case of February 26” in the days of the forum. Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014.