Ukraine protests Russian actions at UN General Assembly
Ukraine plans to raise the issue of Russian occupation of Crimea today in the United Nations General Assembly.
The protest comes in response to a series of Russian home searches and detentions of anti-Russian activists last week. Ukraine protests that the actions were politically motivated. Those targeted were of the pacifistic radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. The group, operating as resistance in Crimea, were labeled a terrorist organization by the Kremlin in 2003.
Expect little to be accomplished through the UNGA. Although the UN has repeatedly lambasted Moscow, most recently for its allegedly arbitrary indictment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, no tangible consequences have manifested. Thus, Ukraine’s complaints will likewise be met with outward agreement but little action. In the long term, Russia’s trend of rejecting international law without repercussion could lead to greater crackdown on political activism both at home and in Crimea. Moreover, Russian military personnel on the peninsula have almost tripled since Crimea’s annexation, signaling unwillingness to negotiate. Nevertheless, Russia’s most pressing issue on the peninsula remains the chronic water shortage due to infrastructure overburdened by the engineered migration of Russian citizens into Crimea.
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