Award of the 2022 Sakharov Prize to the people of Ukraine

The people of Ukraine, represented by their president, elected leaders and civil society, have been awarded the 2022 Zakharov Prize.

The award ceremony took place in the plenary chamber of the Parliament in Strasbourg on 14 December.

Russia’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine, which began in February 2022, has come at a huge cost to the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians are not only fighting to protect their homes, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, they are also defending freedom, democracy, the rule of law and European values.

Presenting the award, EP President Roberta Metsola spoke of the courage and sacrifices of the people of Ukraine. “The message from Europe is clear: we are on Ukraine’s side. We will not look away. The people of Ukraine are not only fighting for their independence but also for their values. The values ​​that characterize our life in the European Union and which for a long time we had the luxury of taking for granted every day.”

After calling for a minute’s silence for all men, women, children, soldiers and civilians who have been killed in the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said:

“We must act now, we cannot wait until the war is over, to bring to justice all those who launched the attack and to prevent a possible new attack. This will be the most effective protection of freedom, human rights, the rule of law and other common values, which this award of the European Parliament primarily represents.”

Speaking via video call, he called for support for the creation of an international court to bring justice to Russia’s crimes.

Present at the ceremony were the following:

· Oleksandra Matviychuk – human rights lawyer and president of the Center for Civil Liberties, who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize

· Yulia Pajevska – founder of the medical voucher unit “Angels of Tiara”

· Ivan Federov – mayor of Melitopol

· Olekssandr Chekryhin and Stanislav Kulykivskyi – representatives of the state emergency services

· Yaroslav Bozhko – of the political resistance movement “Yellow Ribbon”

Learn more about this year’s nominees.

The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is awarded annually by the European Parliament. The award was established in 1988 to honor individuals and organizations that defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is named after the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Zakharov and comes with a prize money of 50,000 euros.

In 2021, Parliament awarded the prize to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Find out how the winners of the Sakharov Prize are chosen by taking a look at our chart.

Lena Flitzani

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