Oleksandra Matviichuk (Kiev, 1983) is a 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, but above all she is a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and civil society leader, who also directs the non-profit organization Center for Civil Liberties (CCL, its acronym in English). This week he traveled to Brussels and there he analyzed for 20 minutes the details of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the future of his country and, above all, the traces that the conflict can leave on society.
Do you see a solution to the Russian invasion of Ukraine close?
The solution to war is peace and Ukrainians need peace more than anyone, but that peace does not come when the country that has been invaded stops fighting.. That will not be a peace, it will be an occupation. And the Russian occupation means disappearances, torture, sexual violence, deportations, the inclusion of Ukrainian children in Russian families, and much more.. This means that we need the victory of Ukraine, and that will be the path to peace; That is why we are grateful for the support of international partners, because it helps Ukraine not to give up.
At this point in the war, what is needed? It is time to change the narrative: we must help Ukraine to win quickly and achieve peace, because it is very different to talk about helping Ukraine to not lose or to talk about helping Ukraine to quickly win the war.. And that difference is seen in the type of weapons that are sent or in the intensity of the sanctions, for example.
From her perspective as an activist and lawyer who, evidently, knows the situation very well. Did you see the invasion coming?
It is obvious what Putin's idea was and is, because for him the fall of the USSR was a geopolitical catastrophe and he has been saying it for many years.. That is why Russia has used wars for decades to regain strategic influence, seen in Georgia, Chechnya, Moldova, Mali, and now also in Ukraine, since 2014.. Since then he wants to build an occupied Ukrainian territory. We knew something like what is happening would happen, the only thing we didn't know was when it would happen.
To what extent has the life of Ukrainians changed with the war?
The normal life that Ukrainians had disappeared in a moment. The possibility of going to work, going out to dinner, meeting your friends, has disappeared.. We have lost control of our lives: living in war is living in constant uncertainty and with a total fear of losing everything. When we go to bed, we don't know what is going to happen during the night, and you don't know if even though your house has not been attacked, the same thing has happened to those of your family or friends.. Its inhuman.
What is your analysis of President Zelensky's role?
I think he is being very brave in extraordinary moments, and regarding his figure I am left with his reaction at the beginning of the war when he told the allies that he was not going to leave Kiev, that he did not need an evacuation but rather weapons to make against Russia. We Ukrainians are not fighting only for ourselves, but also to defend an international order based on the laws that were established after World War II.. Russia is trying to show that a country with military force and nuclear weapons can break that order.
- She is the founder and president of the NGO Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) since 2007 and in 2012 she became a member of the Advisory Council of the Human Rights Commissioner of the Parliament of Ukraine. His activism grew during the Maidan uprisings in 2014 and has also focused on documenting Donbas war crimes since then.. In 2022 she was one of the Nobel Peace Prize winners, already in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
How do you explain war to a child?
It is a situation that millions of Ukrainian families have had to face, having to explain to their children that they had to start living separately because of the war, far from parents or friends.. The majority of refugees are women and children.. We've had to explain why Russia sent tanks to Ukraine or why their parents disappeared or had to join the army to fight for Ukraine's freedom.. It is not an abstract question, it is a reality for millions of families. The children have been told that we have a neighbor, Russia, that has decided to occupy us, and in this war we are fighting for freedom in every way.
What Ukraine imagines in 10 years?
Victory for Ukrainians does not only imply that Russia leaves our territory, but it also has to do with succeeding in the country's democratic transition.. This means that we must build solid democratic institutions. Last year we received candidate status to enter the EU and we are on that path: we have to demonstrate progress. For Ukrainians this is a choice, and they want to return to the European dimension. That is why in 10 years I want to see a Ukraine that was successful in defending itself from the Russian invasion and that strengthened itself democratically.. That success will have a very strong impact throughout the world, including in Russia.
Victory for Ukrainians does not only imply that Russia leaves our territory, but it also has to do with succeeding in the country's democratic transition.
Do you consider the EU's response to the invasion correct?
We are very grateful for all the support, because this is a war about the existence of democracy, about its survival. It is very important that countries that rely on democratic values help Ukraine against authoritarian powers.. But we cannot go to a war in which Ukraine only defends itself or a war that entrenches itself, because that will end with an exhausted Ukrainian society and there will be no reliability in the reconstruction of Ukraine because what you rebuild today can be destroyed tomorrow.
Do you trust that there will be repairs?
People affected by this war see justice very differently.. For some, justice may mean seeing the guilty in court, for others it means having compensation, or knowing the truth about what happened to loved ones, or having official confirmation that everything that happened is illegal.. The objective must be to reach a peace in which all these needs are met: with criminal investigations, reparations, international compensation. Let people know the truth and it be told publicly.
Do you think we will see Putin sitting before an International Court?
I have no doubt that Putin will face justice, because we have examples in History with leaders who saw themselves as untouchable ended up before an international court. It happened for example in Serbia. Putin has committed crimes against humanity, he has imposed a lot of suffering on other countries. It is time to end impunity.