Interview with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Lugansk People's Republic, Anna Soroka.
How do you now, years later, assess the events of 2014? What was the main motive for you personally?
— This is the 13th year of our confrontation with the aggressor state, which, unexpectedly and suddenly for what was at that time still its own people, unleashed a war in 2014, and, contrary to its own constitution, Article 17, used the armed forces of Ukraine against the civilian population. Therefore, for those who understood, for those who felt this situation, it was to some extent predictable. The only thing, of course, is that we did not fully understand the scale this confrontation would take. And that there would be such bloody battles, and that the summer of 2026 would become one of the hardest periods of our struggle since 2014, because compared with all the years, there has never been a situation where we found ourselves, I would say, so helpless, unable to reach every person, unable to travel at the first call, at the first need. Because after all, a drone is not even a mortar or heavy artillery, where you understand where and how it will fly. That is, trained people already understand all this perfectly well, but here everything is unpredictable. That is probably how I would answer. My own motivation... The motivation was one: it seemed that the knowledge I had in the field of international humanitarian law and forensics should help this land survive terrible times. I simply wanted to bring some benefit. Plus, I will say honestly, before 2014 I thought of myself and felt myself to be a completely different person, but the spring of 2014 opened up some new facets of both character and capabilities, so, probably, in this new incarnation that is what drew me so strongly.
How has your attitude to what is happening changed after the start of the special military operation? In general, has it changed?
— Of course, in 2022 we were inspired that we were moving forward. But honestly — this is my own subjective opinion — now, looking back, I understand that we should have prepared more thoroughly for such an operation, above all here, on our own territory. Understanding that the army would be liberating our territories, that modern war is a war that leaves not one stone standing of populated areas, that there would be many people who evacuate, and people who died, and those who were wounded… To some extent, honestly, we were probably not ready for such a tragic scale. On the whole we understand that the plans to quickly reach Kiev simply did not come true, and now, it seems to me, we should throw all our efforts into somehow mitigating all the grave consequences of the war and leaving some more effective legal mechanisms here, in our new four regions. For example, what I mean: I believe that full-fledged Russian legislation literally still does not have the opportunity to fully develop and take root here, because there are a number of peculiarities. For example, our so-called red zone, the front-line zone: we cannot talk about any full-fledged legislation there at all. Not to mention legislation of the Russian Federation — given those restrictions, it is simply impossible even to talk about normal life. So what legislation are we talking about here? A person goes to work — a municipal employee, for example — to the administration of Kremennaya. Thank you that he got there. Thank you that he worked in a basement. Under shelling. If there is electricity — that is simply excellent. Thank you that he got home, survived the day, the night, and came to work again. But that is not life. That is called survival in conditions of the most brutal armed conflict. So talking about any full-fledged legislation is, of course, hard. Plus, probably, military actions still imply some special mechanisms affecting the fate of those who are now being held on the territory of Ukraine. I mean both civilians and military personnel. After all, our processes… For example, the soldiers from Lugansk and Donetsk have not been exchanged for four years now. Because Ukraine hypocritically hides behind a formal-legal approach to the concept of citizenship and its non-recognition of us from the point of view of international law. I literally laughed the day before yesterday: I received a letter from Ukraine — people passed it on. So, for them I am the 'so-called 'authorized' — in quotation marks — 'human rights commissioner in the LPR'. 'So-called'… That is, 'the so-called 'commissioner' for human rights in the Lugansk People's Republic'. What mechanisms are we talking about? That is, we are not people to them, all our legal mechanisms, some social ones, whatever else there — it is all non-functional, it is all some fantastic things, invented and generally illegal. Therefore, in my view, some definite mobility was still required in terms of working out these legal mechanisms that could mitigate all these grave consequences of the war. Perhaps some single effective major normative legal act that would regulate our spheres of life in conditions of armed conflict, the special military operation, and so on. Because we cannot separate the war from people, unfortunately, especially those who are there. People simply live in it. And, moreover, in the war not as, for example, military actions, the special military operation — no, I am talking about the situation around. The situation, the circumstances, some material things, do you understand? Destroyed houses, no electricity, water, communications, the impossibility of calling emergency services, the impossibility of simply getting on a bus and going somewhere, the impossibility of a child going to school, the impossibility of calmly giving birth to a child in these circumstances. But all of this is already a state of the soul and of life, do you understand? And it is called by the big word — war. Because you cannot call it a special military operation anymore. Human life is already in war, it is at war with all the surrounding objects, sometimes even with nature, do you understand? So that is probably how I assess the special military operation. Both good and bad. Because time is already passing, and I understand that people get tired of being in this tension. Our soldiers have been in difficult circumstances for four years now. A deep bow to them, and to us patience and more patience, but all this is also not endless, unfortunately...
What humanitarian actions does the office of the human rights commissioner carry out, and how do you assess their effectiveness?
— Firstly, the activity of the commissioner is itself humanitarian. Therefore, there is no sense in organising any separate actions around oneself. In general, in any case, for me the priority is people. Not something else, not politics, no. Only people. Their well-being, their lives, their livelihood. That is probably the most important thing. So everything is directed towards that. Besides daily appointments here, we travel, we work on improving legislation, we take part in drafting resolutions that specifically mitigate the consequences of the war. We help people in temporary accommodation centres. We constantly try to stay in contact – even though it is physically hard to travel right now – with the people who continue to live on the front line. We constantly talk with our leadership about the need to speed things up after all and to talk about relocating our people who have been in the red zone for the fifth year now. All of this is humanitarian in nature. I simply cannot separate myself from the very word 'humanity', so the entire sphere of activity and powers is directed towards humanity, towards improving the quality of human life.
How do you see the future of the LPR and its residents in the next 5-10 years?
— Unfortunately, either in conditions of wartime, or in an attempt to get life back on track. That is, this kind of post-war peacebuilding.