Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the 80th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviets and drew comparisons with the Russian occupation of Crimea.
“As we commemorate today the victims of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and condemn Russia’s abuse of Crimea, we believe that Russian evil is not and will not be omnipotent,” he said in his evening video address on Saturday.
Soviet dictator Josef Stalin had the Crimean Tatars deported to Central Asia in present-day Uzbekistan on May 18, 1944 because of their cooperation with the Wehrmacht and the German occupying forces.
They were only allowed to return after 1989 and today say their human rights were ignored by the Russian occupiers.
“The time the occupying forces spend on our land is limited, and their expulsion is inevitable,” Zelensky said.
Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014 was a test of the world’s resolve, he said. ‘There was no adequate answer then, and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decided he could outgrow Crimea and do more harm with impunity.”
But the invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago awakened the will of Ukrainians to resist, he said.
The historical point at that moment with the deportation of the Crimean Tatars will never again be a marginal note in history for Ukraine. “Moscow will never have the opportunity to conquer our country, our people, our consciousness and our history,” Zelensky said.
