I Will Go to Crimea, I Really Want to See the Sea: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in an interview with Czech television that he wishes to see the sea and is even planning to visit Crimea. “I will go to Crimea, I really want to see the sea,” Zelenskyy said in response to a question about what he would do first if Ukraine were to win the conflict.

When asked when that would happen, Zelenskyy noted that it would not be in the winter. “What to do in the sea in winter? I will go when it’s warm,” he replied.

During the 2019 presidential election campaign in Ukraine, Zelenskyy's press service announced that his wife, Olena, had purchased property in Crimea in accordance with Ukrainian legislation in April 2013, before the peninsula was annexed by Russia. It was noted that after the purchase, all mandatory taxes and fees were paid, and the apartment was officially registered by Zelenskyy. The property is located in the village of Livadia in the Yalta region on Crimea's southern coast.

On October 18, the State Council of Crimea amended a resolution regarding property management from 2014, establishing a possibility to recognize the properties of unfriendly foreign states and citizens as property of the republic. According to Vladimir Konstantinov, head of the Crimean parliament, properties that may be linked to Volodymyr Zelenskyy could also be subject to nationalization.

Crimea became a Russian region following a referendum held after the 2014 coup in Ukraine.