In just one year, Crimea has gone from being a picturesque tourist destination in Ukraine to a Russian military base that will likely end up hosting nuclear weapons, the United Nations heard Thursday.
Prominent Soviet-era dissident Mustafa Dzhemilev, spiritual leader of Crimea's minority Tatar ethnic group, also said that the rights situation on the peninsula had deteriorated drastically since Moscow took over Crimea a year ago, sparking condemnation in the West.
"Crimea that used to be a tourist area is being turned into a military base... and the most alarming is that Crimea is likely to return into a nuclear weapons base," Dzhemilev told a press conference at UN headquarters in New York.
Between 10,000 and 15,000 Tatars - a minority Muslim community with a distinct language and culture - have fled Crimea since the Russian flag was raised there.
The meeting was boycotted by Russia, which considers the Crimea an integral part of its territory.
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