There is currently no “diplomatic solution” to the war in Ukraine, Irina Shcherbakova, co-founder of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was disbanded by the Russian authorities and awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, said today.

“I am absolutely convinced that there is no diplomatic solution to the Putin regime as long as it exists,” said Irina Shcherbakova, from Hamburg, who fled Russia after Russian troops invaded Ukraine and now lives in Germany.

“The solution presented now is a military solution,” even if diplomacy may later play a role in resolving the conflict, said Shcherbakova, who received the Marion Dönhoff Prize in Hamburg for many years of work in Russia in defense of human rights.

“However, these decisions, this diplomacy will be able to intervene only when Ukraine considers that it has won the war and can end it,” he stressed.

According to the Russian activist, premature calls for peace are “childish”. “Nothing will ever be the same again,” he said.

The Marion Dönhoff Prize was presented to Shcherbakova by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Irina Shcherbakova’s efforts point the way to a “better future for Russia,” even if that prospect “still seems elusive,” the German chancellor said.

The war should not end with “the victory of Russian expansionism,” but we must not forget that Russia will be “there” after the end of hostilities, Soltz continued.

Memorial, which received the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize along with Belarusian human rights activist Alesya Byalyatsky and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, will receive the award in Oslo on Saturday, December 10.

Founded in 1989, Memorial has worked for decades to shed light on the crimes committed under the Stalinist totalitarian regime, while at the same time collecting information about violations of freedoms and rights in Russia. The organization was dissolved by the Russian judicial authority at the end of 2021.