At iftar, Ukraine's Zelenskyy accuses Russia of 'repressing' Crimean Muslims

President vows to recapture Crimea from Russia while hosting Ukraine's first official iftar and honouring Muslim troops

Muslim Ukrainian servicemen attending the iftar meal with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AFP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hosted an official iftar on Friday, during which he accused Russia of mistreating the Muslim-minority Tatar community in Crimea and pledged to recapture the peninsula.

Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, and the territory remains a point of contention between Moscow and Ukraine, with the West condemning the annexation as "fraudulent and illegitimate".

Speaking at a mosque outside the centre of the capital, Mr Zelenskyy condemned what he called Russia's "repressions against Crimean, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar freedom and of Crimean Muslims".

"Russia's attempt to enslave Ukraine began exactly with the occupation of Crimea," he said.

Mr Zelenskyy vowed to return Crimea to Ukrainian control, calling for the "de-occupation of Crimea".

The Tatar community, which accounts for about 15 per cent of Crimea's two million residents, largely boycotted a 2014 vote to decide whether to join the Russian federation.

Moscow then banned the Mejlis, the traditional assembly of the Tatar Muslim minority in Crimea, declaring it an extremist organisation, and has since jailed members of the community, citing security concerns.

Mr Zelenskyy handed out awards to several Muslim Ukrainian servicemen and announced that Ukraine was starting a new tradition of hosting an official iftar, the meal ending the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

"Ukraine is grateful to the Muslims of our country and to everyone in the Muslim community of the world who, like us, longs for peace and protection from evil," he said.

Several Muslim-majority countries, including Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have positioned themselves as mediators in the conflict in Ukraine, brokering agreements between Kyiv and Moscow on grain exports or prisoner exchanges.

Russia has a large Muslim minority from southern regions, including Chechnya and Dagestan, many of whom are fighting for Moscow in Ukraine.