Ukrainian people are awarded Sakharov Prize

The awarding ceremony was broadcast by Espreso.TV.

In Strasbourg, the Ukrainian people were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. 

"We must honor our 2022 laureates. There are the people of Ukraine represented by the elected president, leaders and civil society who have sacrificed so much for their freedom and our values. We often discuss democracy, freedom and values as abstract concepts that don't matter in practice. Still, the ability to vote and even to read independent journalism, to gather and say what you want to say in life, to live and love without consequences. This is what democracy, freedom and values mean. The Ukrainian people deserve this too," said Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.

The award is presented for protecting human rights and compliance with international law. The award was presented to Ukrainians represented by the President, but the nomination includes mayors, politicians, statesmen, and civil society representatives.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke at the ceremony.

"Any attempt to deprive Europe of Ukraine is always a crime. We see such a crime now, Russia's terrorist war against Ukraine and Europe. It was also in the past. When we win now, we will win so that there will never be attempts to deprive Europe of Ukraine and freedom again. So that there will be no attempts to apply genocidal policy against our people, both in Ukraine and throughout Europe. I believe this is part of our duty," the President emphasized.

Reference: The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is an annual European Parliament award founded in 1988. In different years, its winners were South African President Nelson Mandela, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva. In 2019, Ukrainian film director Oleg Sentsov won the Sakharov Prize.