Ukraine to impose sanctions on those persecuting citizens on religious grounds in Crimea and Donbas

This was stated by the Deputy Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Igor Yaremenko during an expert discussion on Friday, September 25, the press service of the Department reports.

This is reported by TSN.

"Religion is a weapon for Russia and makes part of Russia's policy. Those who integrate into the system and support the ROC have a chance of survival. All those who have a different worldview and do not support the actions of the occupiers are being eliminated. This was the case with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, whose last church was closed on the Crimean Peninsula, and representatives of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Jehovah's Witnesses and others are being persecuted in the temporarily occupied territories," he said.

According to the Deputy Minister for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, Russia uses religion as "a weapon in its hybrid war against Ukraine, along with armed aggression and information warfare."

"Therefore, the Ukrainian side will seek tougher sanctions for the Russian Federation for religious persecution in the international arena. The increased sanctions are a response to Russia's religious aggression in Crimea and Donbas. They should be applied to those who stand behind religious persecution," Igor Yaremenko believes.

As previously reported, seven Crimean Tatars who were captured by the invaders, charging them with the participation in the organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir", Rostov "Southern District Court" (Russia) chose severe penalties in the form of a high-security colony of at least 13 years in prison.