President Volodymyr Zelensky, alongside the people of Ukraine, will be awarded the International Charlemagne Prize of Aachen 2023 for the unity of Europe, according to the organizers.
“The Ukrainian people deserve the greatest recognition for the way they are defending freedom, democracy, and self-determination,” they tweeted. "We underscore the fact that Ukraine is part of Europe and that its population and its government representatives support and defend European values.”
Recent winners of the Charlemagne Prize include Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, French President Emmanuel Macron, British historian Timothy Garton Ash, Pope Francis, and Belarussian opposition leaders Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Maria Kalesnikava, and Veronika Tsepkalo.
Earlier, Zelensky was named the person of the year by the Time and the Financial Times, which acknowledged his leadership amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Also, Zelensky was named Politico’s most influential person in Europe of the year on Dec. 7.
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