Volodymyr Zelenskyy Receives 2022 Liberty Medal

Delaware senator Chris Coons (left) and Ohio senator Rob Portman (right) present Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the 2022 Liberty Medal at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine (Courtesy of the National Constitution Center).

The Ukrainian President was honored by the National Constitution Center for his bravery and leadership amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Article by Tommy Lynch, White House Reporter

PHILADELPHIA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the Liberty Medal at the 34th Liberty Medal Ceremony on November 7. The ceremony was held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

“The National Constitution Center honored Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his heroic defense of liberty in the face of Russian tyranny,” The National Constitution Center said in a statement.

The ceremony included speeches from several political figures, including Delaware senator Chris Coons, PBS NewsHour’s Jane Ferguson, honorary consul to Ukraine in Philadelphia Iryna Mazur, as well as former President George W. Bush and President Zelenskyy via video. President Biden sent a letter honoring the achievement of President Zelenskyy.

“President Zelenskyy’s leadership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has won him widespread international acclaim and recognition, and has united millions of hearts in support of Ukraine,” Mazur said.

President Zelenskyy announced that the $100,000 prize earned with the medal will be given to the Ukrainian Veterans Fund.

“I believe that this Liberty Medal is for all men and women of Ukraine who, after the 24th of February, showed to the world’s largest autocracy that only defeat is what it can win in Ukraine,” President Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy joins a list of established politicians and civil rights activists who have won the Liberty Medal, including Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 2020 and the late John Lewis in 2016.

“I call on you to maintain unwavering unity, as it is now, until that very day when we all hear those important words we have been dreaming of,” Zelenskyy said, “Until we hear that peace has finally been restored. Democracies must not stop on their way to the victory.”