Ukrainian sailors threaten Poroshenko to return to Crimea and take Russian citizenship
Ukrainian naval personnel who refused to swear allegiance to Russia after Crimea's reunification have addressed an open letter to the Ukrainian president demanding housing. Otherwise, they threaten to accept Russian citizenship upon retirement, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
A letter signed by 35 senior officers was published by the Dumskaya website from Odessa, where the remnants of the Navy are located.
“In accordance with the directive of the Minister of Defense, we left our property and official housing in Crimea and, together with our families, urgently left the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea for further service... It was proposed to privatize official housing located on the territory of Crimea, while it was promised to leave us the right to receive permanent housing in unoccupied territory, by introducing changes to the current regulatory framework back in 2014...
At this time, most of the apartments, along with personal property, have already been seized by the occupiers. Promises regarding the right to obtain permanent housing in the unoccupied territory of Ukraine have remained promises; no changes have been made to legal acts for four years... It is worth noting that the failure to resolve this issue for about four years is striking in its cynical attitude towards military personnel and members of their families, who remained patriots of their state, left the occupied territories and continue to defend the independence of Ukraine,” the letter says.
The sailors also note that many of them are participants in the punitive operation in Donbass and have state awards for performing combat missions and minor children.
“We hope that the state leadership will not stand aside from resolving the issue of the families of military sailors and will not encourage naval personnel, after being transferred to the reserve, to return to occupied Crimea with their families and accept Russian citizenship to resolve the housing issue.”
Ukrainian sailors threaten Poroshenko to return to Crimea and take Russian citizenship.