The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its protest with regard to non-admission of consular officers to the citizen of Ukraine Yevhenii Panov, who was illegally detained in August 2016 on the temporarily occupied territory of Autonomous Republic of Crimea and later moved to territory of Russia.

According to his lawer, Y.Panov was forced to write a statement on the refusal of submission of his interests to the consular officials of Ukraine, thus depriving our citizen’s rights to consular protection.

We demand from the Russian authorities to ensure respect for human rights of Yevhenii Panov, immediately provide an admission of Ukrainian consular officials in accordance with the international obligations of the Russian Federation, provided by Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and bilateral Consular convention between Ukraine and the Russian Federation in terms of ensuring the right of consular officials to meet with the detained citizens.

We urge the international community, human rights international institutions, Russian human rights organizations to assess the flagrant violations of illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and continue political and diplomatic pressure on the Russian Federation in order to release and return to Ukraine all citizens who have become hostages of Russia’s aggressive policy.