President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian people have become the new laureates of the Charlemagne – Karlspreis, which is awarded annually by the municipality of the German city of Aachen to individuals who stand out in the promotion of European values ​​and unity, the EFE agency reported on Friday, citing Agerpres.

Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian military in KharkivPhoto: President.gov.ua

The award, founded in 1950, means the actual recognition of Ukraine’s membership in the European project. The Ukrainian people and Zelenskyi represent “not only the protection of the sovereignty of Ukraine as a country, but also of the whole of Europe and its values,” notes the committee that awards the award.

Zelensky was nominated for this award last year, even before the Russian invasion, but in the end it was awarded to the Belarusian opposition.

According to tradition, the Charlemagne Prize is awarded every year at a ceremony held in May at the Town Hall in Aachen.

Among the personalities who have received this award over time – the former Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill (1955), the fathers of the EU Jean Monnet (1953) and Robert Schumann (1958), Pope John Paul II (2004), the former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel (2008), former European Parliament President Martin Schulz (2015), Pope Francis (2016), French President Emmanuel Macron (2018), UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (2019) and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis (2020).

This year, President Zelenskyi and the Ukrainian people also received a European award, namely the Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament for freedom of thought.

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