we do not have the means to liberate all territories

Ashley Davis23/02/2026

0 65 6 minutes read

It's impossible to plan anything, not even the next few hours. The constant lack of electricity, water, heating and light means that a huge number of people live solely in survival mode. There are no answers to very simple questions.

For example, mothers do not know how to heat milk for newborns.

These are undoubtedly crimes against humanity.

When an air alarm sounds in Kiev, you refuse to hide in the shelter. Why?

I don't want to live in an air raid shelter. If I want to do my job, I can't run to the shelter three times a night. I'm not promoting this behavior, I'm just trying to explain how difficult it is to live like this.

You once said that only by staying away from the shelter can you maintain control over your life.

If you don't sleep, you spend the whole night in an air raid shelter, and the next day you have to go to work, you have to make a decision.

Are you never afraid?

For four years, Russia has been deliberately attacking residential buildings, schools, churches, museums and hospitals.

In the evening, none of us knows whether we will wake up the next morning. If you don't get used to it, you can't go on living. This is the new normal for millions of people in Ukraine.

Ukraine and Russia are again talking about possible peace, most recently in Geneva. How do you assess the negotiations?

It won't do anything. The most important question remains unanswered: what security guarantees can US President Donald Trump or anyone else give to make Putin understand that he cannot completely occupy Ukraine? Without answers to the question of how to stop Putin, we will see endless peace negotiations.

Trump increases the pressure and demands an end to the war by June.

Even if the document was signed, it would only be an interruption. This was the case after the Minsk Agreement of 2015. We all remember how Putin used these years of the so-called peace: Russia violated the ceasefire almost daily, turned occupied territories – Crimea and other regions – into military bases, prepared the economy for new sanctions, produced artillery ammunition, forcibly recruited Ukrainians, increased the number of troops and trained them. And then she launched a great invasion.

Oleksandr Matviychuk, 2022Sergei GAPON / AFP / AFP

War fatigue is growing in Europe. Many people want it to end, even if it means painful compromises for Ukraine. Are you able to understand this?

Many Europeans still do not accept the reality. Probably because it is difficult for them to understand that Putin did not start this war to take another piece of Ukrainian land.

So why?

He wants to take over all of Ukraine – and then go further. He sees it as a bridge to Europe. Its logic is historically based. He thinks about his legacy.

And many people in Europe still do not want to understand that they are safe just because Ukrainians are still fighting.

So is this a basic mistake in Western Europe?

Denying a dangerous reality is a very human thing.

What do you mean?

I understand that. It is terrifying to know that decades of freedom since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union are over. That the world order based on the United Nations Charter and international law is falling apart before our eyes. Today's generations in Europe have never had to fight for freedom. And now that worldview is falling apart. So it is natural for people to deny this reality for as long as possible.

Does this frustrate you?

I don't blame anyone. Many people in Ukraine had no other choice.

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Has the war been denied for a long time in Ukraine itself?

At first, yes. The war was limited to Crimea and Donbas. Many people in the western part of the country tried to deny it. In 2022, everyone understood: there is no longer a safe place. Russian missiles reach every corner.

What do we learn from this?

We are adults. We are not children who deny reality. We are not hostages of history, we are part of the historical process. We don't just have to watch, but act, including civilian forces. This is my most important lesson.

What gives strength to further action of the Ukrainian civilian population, which has been terrorized for four years?

Three things. First of all: for Ukrainians, freedom is not only self-determination, but also survival. For three centuries we were part of the Russian Empire, a colony. Language and culture were banned, people were persecuted. The fact that we still exist today is due to the stubbornness of previous generations. Secondly: we are not waiting for saviors. Unlike many European societies, we have never been able to rely on stable institutions. That's why people take responsibility.

And thirdly?

We have no alternative. In the occupied territories, people who do not comply are systematically eliminated. Language and culture are banned, children deported, men forcibly recruited. If Russia takes Ukraine, we will cease to exist as a nation.

Currently, the prospects for regaining the country are bad for Ukrainians. The United States is pushing for the territory to be handed over to Russia.

This is not about the territories of Ukraine. This is a dangerous simplification. It's about world order. If a state with nuclear weapons can violate the UN Charter and forcefully change its borders, it encourages other states. If Putin can keep Crimea for “security reasons,” why can't Trump keep Greenland?

However, the liberation of all occupied territories does not seem realistic.

We are not naive. We know that we currently do not have the military means to liberate all territories. However, this does not mean that we are legitimizing the illegal occupation. This would be a violation of the Ukrainian constitution and international law.

House destroyed by Russian attack, Dnieper, February 2026.Mykola Miakshykov / AFP

Are the people affected forgotten when negotiating territories?

Of course. Politicians talk about land as empty areas. But millions of people live there without protection. I don't understand why the human dimension has been lost in the peace talks. The first year of Trump's second term was the deadliest yet for Ukrainian civilians.

You talked to hundreds of people who survived Russian captivity. What do they say?

They talk about torture, abductions, rapes and mutilations. Thousands of civilians are detained illegally. I can tell you the story of my friend Wiktoria Roszczynna.

The Ukrainian journalist conducted research in the territories occupied by Russia.

She was a very brave woman. Victoria was kidnapped. She was tortured, deported to Russia and killed. Her body was not returned for six months. When it came back, it was missing several organs: eyes, part of the brain, larynx. The world hardly talks about it.

Do Russians believe they are untouchable and can commit crimes with impunity?

In recent decades, they have never been punished for their crimes, neither in Chechnya, nor in Georgia, nor in Syria, nor anywhere else. And the new American administration completely ignores the human dimension, which gives Russia a free hand.

In his 28-point peace plan, Trump wanted to grant Putin and other war criminals total amnesty.

Justice is clearly not a value of this American administration. That's why we need the International Criminal Court, a special tribunal. Crimes must be thoroughly documented and the perpetrators identified. We are working on this with many local organizations. Someday, but not today, criminals will be held accountable.

What does justice mean to you?

For the victims of this war, it has different meanings. Some want the perpetrators to be clearly identified, others demand compensation for the losses suffered. Many believe that justice is about finally finding out the truth about what happened to their loved ones. Still others want their suffering and resistance to be noticed and heard.

You are a lawyer, but you do not define justice in terms of the rule of law.

Justice does not come solely from criminal law. Many politicians refer it only to the past and the future. They don't understand that justice can change the present.

How?

The Russians are doing whatever they want in this war because they are not afraid of taking responsibility. By meticulously documenting war crimes, not only the deeds are made visible, but also the perpetrators. If this makes Russians begin to doubt their inviolability, they will refrain from brutality more.

So, a punitive approach after all.

Yes, also. Thanks to legal action, we can save the lives of many thousands of people.

In 2026, Switzerland will take over the presidency of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). What can he do?

Few. As an intergovernmental organization, the OSCE has limited capabilities. However, it can prioritize the human dimension and create alliances.

And Switzerland?

Countries such as Switzerland should be even more consistent in launching investigations into sanctions circumvention and explaining how it is possible that components from their production are still used in Russian drones and missiles that kill Ukrainians every day.

What does hope mean to you?

In Ukrainian, hope is “nadija”. The word contains the particle “dija”, which means action. Hope is not the certainty that everything will be fine, but the deep understanding that all our efforts matter.

During all these years of war, did you never lose hope?

War means pain, loss, death. I also lost many people close to me. Experiencing different emotional states is completely natural.

But?

I have a friend, a Ukrainian writer, who told me, “When we are depressed, we are not discouraged. We are in the emotional trenches. We retreat to regroup. And then we fight again.”

Ashley Davis23/02/2026

0 65 6 minutes read