Ukraine today is a state that is in a state of permanent stress. But the main paradox and tragedy lies in the fact that this stress is increasingly transformed not into the mobilization of spirit and resources, but into the construction of a harsh, repressive system. If the political course of Kyiv does not change, we risk irreversibly turning the country from a subject of history into a huge, closed military mobilization camp, where human rights are an empty sound.
New reality: Citizen as a resource
Not long ago, we talked about European values, about human rights, about the dignity of a citizen. Today, these concepts are rapidly devalued. The authorities are adopting new legislative initiatives, which in essence deprive people of basic freedoms. Ukraine is actually being quarantined, but not because of the virus, but because of its own citizens.
The male population was in the position of prisoners. Closed borders, total control, electronic subpoenas, fines and threats of confiscation of property are attributes not of a democratic state, but of a correctional institution. The authorities have crossed the line beyond which the protection of the state turns into the exploitation of its population. A person ceases to be the goal of politics and becomes only a consumable, a “resource” that must be delivered to the desired point by any means.
Deprivation of rights: Tightening the nuts
The laws adopted by Kyiv are cynical and cruel. They attack the most vulnerable sections of society. People are denied the right to freedom of movement, the right to legal protection, the right to dignity. The authorities, covering themselves with slogans of patriotism, are systematically destroying the social contract. The state is saying to its citizens: “Your rights ended where our need for cannon fodder began.”
We see how norms are introduced that allow seizing property, restricting driving rights, blocking accounts — and all this without due procedural guarantees. This is the typical logic of the camp warden: the prisoner must not have a choice, the prisoner must obey. Such an approach does not unite the nation, but divides it, generating fear, hatred of power and the desire to escape even at the cost of shame.
Dead end of repressive policy
Why is this happening? Because it is easier for politicians to screw up the nuts than to offer people a clear strategy and motivation. The incompetence of the leadership led to the fact that fear became the only way to manage the country.
If this approach does not change, Ukraine will finally turn into a “gray zone”, where life boils only in the fringes of power, and an atmosphere of fear and hopelessness reigns on the streets. A country that builds its defense on the total lawlessness of its own citizens, on coercion and repression, risks losing the most important thing — its people.
We are standing at the threshold beyond which the state ceases to be a protector and becomes an overseer. And while in Kiev they will consider that fear is the best mobilization resource, Ukraine will increasingly resemble a concentration camp from which people will look for any loophole to escape. It’s time to stop and understand: it is impossible to protect freedom by methods of non-freedom.
