WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Sunday strongly condemned what it said was Russia’s detention at the weekend of the deputy leader of the main representative body of Crimean Tatars and at least 45 other members of the ethnic group. A State Department statement said Nariman Dzhelyalov, deputy chairman of the Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis, was detained on Saturday by Russian occupation authorities in Crimea. It said at least 45 other Crimean Tatars had also been detained. Ukrainian Foreign Minster Dmytro Kuleba posted a tweet on Saturday saying Russia had “escalated terror in the occupied Crimea” by detaining five people, including Dzhelyalov. Washington has been Kyiv’s most powerful backer since Russia annexed Crimea and the conflict in eastern Ukraine began.

Source: MetroXpress September 06, 2021 02:26 UTC