No May barbecues in Crimea this year, demoralisation begun – Crimean Tatar leader

Akhtem Chyihoz, Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Russian business owners are temporarily halting their business operations in Crimea and Russian property owners are putting their houses and apartments up for sale at discounted prices. Source: Akhtem Chyihoz on Radio Liberty's Liberty LIVE  Quote: "They have no faith that Crimea will remain [under Russian control - ed.].

Prices have dropped. Crucially, there are no Russian investors, they are abandoning their firms and their construction projects. There's no demand for apartments...

These moods [of panic and despair - ed.] have endured since last September, but our latest 'gifts' to Crimea [i.e. the damage done by Ukraine's resistance forces to the Russian military infrastructure in Crimea - ed.]...My compatriots are saying that we need to give [the Russians] these 'gifts' more often, because it speeds up these processes. And it doesn't matter whether we hit exactly the target we aimed for or somewhere in its vicinity, or our attack got intercepted - all of this demoralises them.

There will definitely be no May barbecues in Crimea. Crimea was such a homey place for them: there is sun, sea, and warmth here.

Now they don't feel that way anymore. The most important thing is that we destroyed their intentions to enjoy themselves in Crimea. The Russians don't like going to places that they deem dangerous.

So there'll be no barbecues." Background:

• Explosions have been rocking Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia, almost daily since August 2022. Last year, several airfields in Crimea were attacked, as was the so-called Crimean Bridge connecting Crimea with Russia.
• Explosions rocked Dzhankoi, the north of Russian-annexed Crimea, on the evening of 20 March 2023.

  Ukraine's Defence Intelligence said that several Russian Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed in the explosions.

• Russian occupation authorities said that the Russian military destroyed three drones that attacked the Russian Black Sea Fleet on 22 March 2023.

  Later on, Crimean radio stations broadcast messages calling for evacuation from Crimea.

• Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, said that Russian occupation authorities in Crimea have started evacuating their families from the Ukrainian peninsula.

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