Middelburg: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was being awarded the prestigious International Four Freedoms Award at a ceremony on Thursday for his and his nation's courage and resilience in resisting the full-scale invasion launched more than four years ago by Russia.
The honour was bestowed by the Roosevelt Foundation, which was created in 1982 to present awards honouring the Four Freedoms outlined by US President Franklin D Roosevelt in his 1941 State of the Union address — freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
“We pay the highest tribute to the unwavering courage and enduring perseverance of the Ukrainian people and to the steadfast and resolute leadership of their president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,” Hugo de Jonge, chair of the foundation, said Thursday.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten paid tribute to Zelenskyy at the ceremony, saying, “It speaks volumes that you only agreed to accept this award if you could do so on behalf of all the people of Ukraine.”
Previous winners of the international award include Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel, and organisations including the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
French rape survivor Gisele Pelicot was receiving the Freedom from Fear Award; the Committee to Protect Journalists received the Freedom of Speech Award; Isidora Uribe Silva from Chile, who has cerebral palsy, earned the Freedom from Want Award for her years of campaigning for inclusion, equal human rights, and gender equality.
The winner of the Freedom of Worship Award was not announced publicly by the foundation, citing security concerns
After the ceremony, Zelenskyy was meeting with Jetten. The Netherlands has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, including providing Patriot missiles and fighter jets. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius announced that the Netherlands was spending 248 million euros (USD 292 million) on drones for the Ukrainian military.
With no plans announced for further US-mediated talks with Russia, Zelenskyy had already visited three European capitals in 48 hours this week to try to secure promises of further military and financial support from Germany, Norway and Italy. Germany and Ukraine agreed on a defence package valued at 4 billion euros (USD 4.7 billion), and Norway has pledged 9 billion euros in assistance, Ukrainian officials said.
The Four Freedoms awards are presented in the New Church in Middelburg, in the province of Zeeland, where Roosevelt's ancestors hail from.