The Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Oksana Markarova, announced that this year's Oxi Courage Award, annually presented by the American foundation The Washington Oxi Day Foundation, will be awarded to Ukrainian journalist, human rights activist, and war correspondent Viktoria Roshchyna, who died in Russian captivity. Markarova wrote about this on her Facebook page, UNN reports.
Details
We thank the Oxi Day Foundation for recognizing Viktoria's heroism and for the opportunity to remind the participants of the upcoming ceremony about the high price of our freedom
The Oxi Day Foundation was founded in 2011 to honor the heroism of the Greek people, who in 1940 said "oxi" ("no") to Hitler's Germany's ultimatum. Since then, the organization annually honors modern heroes who have shown determination and courage in the fight for freedom and democratic values.
Past laureates include President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (2022), the Save Ukraine organization, which rescues children abducted from Ukraine to Russia, and singer Ruslana Lyzhychko, a heroine of Euromaidan.
This year, the global community will pay tribute to Viktoria Roshchyna, who, despite mortal danger, documented war crimes and violations of humanitarian law in the occupied territories. In August, she was already awarded the Order of Freedom (posthumously) by President Zelenskyy.
The award ceremony will take place in Washington at the annual Oxi Courage Awards, which gathers leading figures from the US and around the world to honor modern symbols of courage.
Recall
Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets received official confirmation from the Russian Federation about the death of Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna in captivity. She disappeared in August 2023 in the occupied territory of Ukraine.
In May, the Verkhovna Rada supported the appeal to award journalist Viktoria Roshchyna the title of Hero of Ukraine (posthumously). The decision was supported by 247 deputies.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on August 2 awarded journalist Viktoria Roshchyna the Order of Freedom. She died in Russian captivity due to torture.