Could Ukraine lose its democracy?
This war brought many challenges for democracy in Ukraine. The prolonged state of war affects its internal political space, changes the situation in the media sphere, affects access to public information, the work of political parties, courts and other state institutions.
What is democracy for you? Do you feel it? Do you appreciate it? I am sure that for you democracy is like air. You are used to it and it is natural. You easily use your rights, your freedom. This is the basis of human dignity and honour.
In Ukraine, everything is the opposite. You gradually adapt to new crisis circumstances and over time you even stop complaining.
A video about democracy during war appeared in my newsfeed. I smiled. Artificial intelligence must have already tracked what topic I am interested in. In one video, a stern soldier claims there can be no democracy in wartime. In another video, the Ukrainian political scientist convinces that only democratic principles help us to stand in such a difficult struggle.
The third year of the full-scale Russian invasion has begun. Presidential elections were to be held in Ukraine this month. Instead, researchers of the level of democracy note President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is increasingly concentrating power in his hands.
In the conditions of martial law, during a major crisis, the strong leadership of the head of state is extremely important.
There is a potential danger in this, which is that after the war the stability of the political system will become excessively dependent on one person.
Many political observers call Zelenskyy the new dictator. Many of our international partners put pressure on the president to hold elections. However, everyone understands it is impossible to hold democratic elections during such an intense and brutal war.
Martial law imposed significant restrictions on media freedom. All informational TV channels have merged into one media space. During the first months of the war, the appropriateness of such a news broadcast format did not cause doubts. Now this destroys the diversity of Ukrainian television, the versatility of the media vision. That is why more than half of media consumers are looking for other sources of information. YouTube and Telegram channels are popular. However, you can often find a lot of disinformation and Russian propaganda there.
War is a violation of international law, of democratic norms and human rights. It takes away our right to life, right to education, access to medicine. Perhaps it is very banal, but the war takes away our right to a normal sleep. It’s so exhausting.
Last month, Russian missiles bombarded Ukraine almost nightly. My friend lives in Kyiv; tired of running several times during the night, she now sleeps in her car in an underground parking lot. Many are forced to sleep in the subway.
The air raid alarm sounded today at 6:15 a.m. The annoying male voice on the pole next to my house feels like shouting in my ear. “Air alarm, take shelter immediately.”
I didn’t plan to get out of bed. But a strange sound was heard outside the window, as if a moped was moving in the air. That’s what Shahed drone sounds like. My family immediately escaped to the basement. A series of explosions in the air followed — that’s how air defence works.
Our air defence guys are our gods. They just saved our lives. Anti-aircraft missiles, tanks, drones and our soldiers at the front are what are protecting democracy in Ukraine and around the world.
My daughter Sofia looked at me displeased. “Mom, just don’t tell me that I’m going to school today.” “Yes, dear, you have to. We continue to fight for the right to education.”