10,000 land plots owned by Ukrainians in Crimea fall under Putin's decree banning ‘foreign’ ownership
In the annexed Crimea, 9,747 plots of land in the "border territories of Russia" belong to the citizens of Ukraine, reported RosReestr (The Russian Federal Service for State Registration, Cadaster and Cartography).
Their owners will be required to sell them to Russian citizens or Russian companies, or they can be bought by Russian government.
"According to RosReestr, more than 11,500 plots of land in Crimea in the border territories of Russia belong to foreigners. This list did not include the territories of Simferopol, Dzhankoi and Kranoperekopsk, as well as the Belogorsky, Krasnogvardeysky and Pervomaysky districts. It is noteworthy that such a large number represents only those plots that have already been registered in accordance with Russian law," the statement reads.
The RosReestr claims that the owners of real estate on the peninsula included citizens of 55 countries: Ukraine, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Israel, Lithuania, Australia, Vietnam, UAE, Saudi Arabia and other countries.
On March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin expanded the list of territories, where the land cannot be owned by "foreigners" and "foreign legal entities". The list includes most areas of annexed Crimea and Sevastopol, as well as Kerch, Yalta, Eupatoria and other coastal cities of the peninsula. The ban does not apply to three areas of Crimea - Pervomaisky, Krasnogvardeysky and Belogorsky districts as these areas do not border the mainland of Ukraine and do not have access to the Black Sea. Similarly, the list did not include the Upper Nesadovsky Village Council in the Nakhimov district of Sevastopol.
The Office of the President of Ukraine for Crimea called Putin's decree on land ownership in Crimea a "war crime". And the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea is expected to provide a legal assessment of this fact.
The head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars Refat Chubarov believes that Putin's decree on land ownership in the annexed Crimea will be "another disaster" for the Crimean Tatar people.
In February 2014, armed people in uniforms without insignias appeared in Crimea and captured the Supreme Council of Crimea, the Simferopol Airport, the Kerch ferry crossing and other strategic objects, and prevented the Ukrainian army from taking action. Initially, the Russian government refused to acknowledge that these armed people were Russian soldiers, but President Vladimir Putin later admitted it.
On 16 March 2014, a referendum on the status of Crimea was held in Crimea and Sevastopol, in which the inhabitants supposedly voted for the peninsula to become part of Russia. The outcome of the so-called referendum is not recognized by Ukraine, the EU or the US. On 18 March, Putin announced the “annexation” of Crimea to Russia.
International organizations have declared the annexation illegal and condemned Russia’s actions. Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia in connection with the annexation. Russia claims to have “restored historical justice”. Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, declared 20 February 2014 the start of Russia’s temporary occupation of Crimea and Sevastopol.