[Witness spoke in Russian, interpreted as follows:]
Crimea had the Kyzyltash nuclear base near Simferopol. It was built in 1952; the construction finished in 1954, after the death of Stalin. About 5,000 prisoners worked on the construction site, and after that, for secrecy, all those people were shot.
This nuclear base has existed throughout the time of the Soviet Union, and in 1996, after Ukraine declared independence and signed the Budapest memorandum to give up its nuclear weapons, the weapons located on the nuclear base were transferred to the Russian Federation in accordance with the agreement. This base was closed. It no longer existed.
When the Russian occupiers arrived, the first thing they did was to restore the nuclear base back to life. The work continued 24-7. Some Crimean Tatars also worked on the site, so we had complete information on the activities that were going on there. At the end of the work, not only the Crimean Tatars but also the local Crimean workers were asked not to work there anymore, and only Russians who were brought from Russia worked there.
We received some information later from two sources that six nuclear warheads are located on that nuclear site. We received that information from our sources in Crimea and Moscow. Our intelligence says it is possible there are nuclear weapons, but there is no exact information. The CIA said the same, that there was no exact information; however, two reliable sources have told us that there are six nuclear warheads there.
Several months ago, when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe was reviewing the questions of nuclear security and safety for nuclear power plants, I spoke there. I said that it is not just the nuclear power plants that are dangerous and I asked them to please pay attention to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. I spoke about the nuclear weapons proliferation in Crimea. I asked them to call together a special commission that would verify whether nuclear weapons were present there, because if they are, this violates the Budapest memorandum.
Second, Crimea is part of Ukraine, so we gave up nuclear weapons, and now, yet again, we have nuclear weapons on our territory. Those nuclear weapons are threatening not just our country, but the entire Black Sea region. That is the situation.
Of course, the militarization is ongoing and ramping up. They are building the Tavrida highway, and they are building it with no regard for cultural heritage or the environment. They are razing everything down. They have cut down 30% of the forests of Crimea. Everything is done for the purpose of military construction. This militarization threatens the environment and nature in Crimea, and that is another aspect that should be taken into account. This is a crime against the Crimean peninsula.