Crimean Tatars were deported to the faraway areas of Siberia, the Urals and Central Asia, where they were without documents, in terms of the curfew regime, and without the right to travel even to find families, lost during this deportation. Difficult living conditions in the settlements, which had been complicated by unusual climate and infectious diseases, caused mass illness and death among the deported persons. Moreover, it was reinforced significantly by the actual lack of medical care.

Consequently, in Uzbekistan there was epidemic outbreak of malaria and jaundice as early as July 1944. In particular, the sick’s quantity in Namangan region estimated as 40% of the deportees. Just before 1 January 1945 inUzbekistan there were 13 592 deaths of deported Crimean Tatars, representing 9.1 % of their general number. During the first half of the year of deportation 17.8% of the deported Crimean Tatars in Uzbekistan were dead.

However, since 1954 the repressive policy has lost its intensity. In July 13, 1954 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR abolished its decree from 26 November, 1948 on criminal liability for the escape of the places of exile. Twentieth Party Congress (February, 1956) openly condemned the policy of deportations. At the same time, new orders still banned to return to Crimea for deported persons. In January 1974 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the UUSR abolished the prohibition to return to Crimea in place of their former residence for Crimean Tatars, Greeks, Armenians and Bulgarians.

Since 1987 returning the Crimean Tatars to Crimea became widespread. At the beginning of 1990 the Crimean Tatars became the third largest ethnic group in Crimea.
Since independence Ukraine has assumed full responsibility for the fate of all its citizens, including those, who returned to its territory from deportation.

In 1992-2013 the repatriation process into Ukraine of formerly deported persons on ethnic grounds was conducted within the framework of the Agreement on matters relating to the restoration of the rights of deported persons, minorities and peoples, which was adopted in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan, 1992) by the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (the so-called Bishkek agreement) and prolonged in St. Petersburg, 2003 for the next ten years.

Before the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation in February and March 2014 Ukraine actually carried out extensive work aimed at solving social and economic problems of Crimean Tatars and other nationalities, who returned permanently to the Crimea by means of its own resources.