The Ministry of Reintegration is publishing stories of Ukrainian citizens who resist the enemy occupation in Crimea. 

In November 2019, the occupation authorities in Crimea illegally detained journalist and analyst Oleksiy Bessarabov. He was then unjustifiably sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Oleksiy Bessarabov has two degrees. He studied at the Nakhimov Institute in Sevastopol and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Journalism. He held an officer’s rank in the Ukrainian Navy but resigned long before the events of 2014.

He was a correspondent for news and analytical publications. Since 2009, he has been the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Black Sea Security magazine and an expert at the ‘Nomos’ Center for the Promotion of Geopolitical Studies and Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in the Black Sea Region.

He is married and has a son.

On November 9, 2016, representatives of the enemy special services detained Oleksiy Bessarabov, accusing him of engaging in sabotage activities.

The occupation “court” illegally sentenced the journalist to 14 years in prison.

Oleksiy Bessarabov was detained for his journalistic investigations, which frequently covered the russian Black Sea Fleet and Crimea.

Oleksiy Bessarabov is currently detained in a high-security prison located in the village of Kochubeyevskoye, Stavropol Territory, russia.

“I am one of over a hundred Ukrainian citizens who have been imprisoned in Crimea on false charges,” stated Oleksiy.

Despite the odds, Oleksiy Bessarabov persists in his fight for Ukraine. The resistance movement endures!