Participants in the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform, held in New York City on Wednesday, September 23, adopted a joint statement in which, among other things, stated that ending Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine is absolutely essential for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty and is a decisive step toward restoring international peace and security; they also reaffirmed their support for international judicial and other mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court; called for unity and the strengthening of sanctions against Russia; and condemned any illegal elections in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
As stated in the text of the declaration published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (MFA), the summit participants reaffirmed once again that the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the city of Sevastopol, and other parts of Ukraine's territory temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation, were and remain integral parts of Ukraine's sovereign territory, and that their temporary occupation does not create any legal grounds for changing their status.
"We are convinced that the liberation of all temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial sea, are crucial steps toward restoring international peace and security, strengthening the international legal order, and ensuring respect for the fundamental norms of international law," the summit participants said.
The statement also states that any illegal "elections" held by the aggressor state in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine cannot alter their status under international law, and that the liberation of Crimea is an integral part of restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and a necessary prerequisite for restoring a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace and strengthening international security.
According to statement, restrictions on and infringements of freedom of navigation in the Black and Azov Seas, along with Russia's militarization of the Crimean Peninsula and its use as a military base for a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, pose a threat to regional and global security and undermine international trade, energy, and food security.
Separately, the platform's participants emphasized the need to ensure full accountability for any war crimes and other serious international crimes committed in connection with Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. "To this end, we support the work of international judicial and other relevant mechanisms, in particular the International Criminal Court, the European Court of Human Rights, and other institutions, to ensure accountability for international crimes and violations of international law, and we also encourage further sustained efforts within the Council of Europe aimed at facilitating the operational activities of the Special Tribunal on the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine and the International Commission for the Settlement of Claims for Ukraine," the document reads.
The summit participants called on the international community to take "decisive, coordinated, and consistent action," in particular, strengthening international sanctions against Russia and enhancing international coordination to prevent the circumvention of sanctions, intensifying efforts to secure the release of all civilians and political prisoners illegally detained and held by the Russian Federation, the return to Ukraine of Ukrainian children deported to Russia, countering Russia's policy of assimilating children in the temporarily occupied territories, and supporting the Global Coalition for Ukrainian Studies, an integral part of which is Crimean Tatar studies.
"We demand that the Russian Federation immediately cease its armed aggression against Ukraine and withdraw all its troops and occupation administrations from all temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in accordance with international law," the statement reads.
Participants in the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform called on states and international organizations to join the Platform and participate in its activities, and on partners to expand their participation, contribute to the achievement of its goals and objectives, and jointly intensify international pressure on Russia.
Approximately 50 states and international organizations are participating in the sixth summit of the International Crimea Platform in New York on September 23, 2026. It is taking place at the UN Headquarters in New York (during the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly). The core topics of the summit are the situation in the temporarily occupied Crimea, human rights violations, the militarization of the peninsula, and next steps toward de-occupation.
The previous fifth summit in New York in 2025 was attended by representatives from 54 countries and 7 international organizations (more than 60 participants in total).
