Ukrainian musician refuses Magnitsky award after Alexei Navalny’s widow named laureate

Andriy Khlyvnyuk announced this on Facebook.

Ukrainian soldier and musician Andriy Khlyvnyuk thanked the founders and jury of the influential international Sergei Magnitsky Award in London but stated that he could not accept it.

"You have noticed and acknowledged my relatively small contribution, compared to other individuals and foundations, in the race for freedom of speech and fundamental human rights within the fight for Ukraine's independence," he wrote.

He clarified that he could not accept the award alongside Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who was also a recipient this year. He explained his decision by highlighting her expressed doubts about whether Ukraine should be supplied with military aid.

"However, as a father of two children who live under missile attacks and a regular member of the Ukrainian Defense Forces (a member of the drone strike unit of the Kherson patrol police), I cannot accept this award alongside other laureates who are 'uncertain' about providing my country with the Western weapons essential for repelling Russian aggression," the serviceman added.

Last week, the founder of the award, head of Hermitage Capital William Browder, announced that Yulia Navalnaya had become a laureate of the Magnitsky Award for her "Courage under fire."

"Her continued resilience in the face of adversity and dedication to Alexei’s mission of achieving a free and democratic Russia is nothing short of incredible," he wrote on X.

The Magnitsky International Award was founded in 2015, on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Magnitsky was arrested on charges of tax evasion and died on November 13, 2009, in a Russian pretrial detention center.

Magnitsky was accused of helping his client, the foreign investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, evade taxes. However, both Magnitsky and his defense team believed the case was fabricated and linked it to his revelations about high-ranking Russian officials and security forces. Shortly before his arrest, Magnitsky uncovered several schemes involving fraudulent tax refunds totaling 5.4 billion rubles.