PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy received the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 7 March 2022.

Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova received the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award for President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was presented by Chairman of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation Frederick Ryan.

Frederick Ryan stressed that this high award honors the leadership of the President of Ukraine and the steadfastness of millions of Ukrainians who defend their right to choose their own future and inspire the entire civilized world to fight for the values of freedom and democracy to which Ronald Reagan dedicated his life. It was President Reagan who gave a decisive impetus to the destruction of the Soviet “evil empire” and paved the way for freedom and democracy for its enslaved nations in the former Soviet Union.

Today, the Kremlin regime is trying to rebuild the wreckage of the Soviet empire having started a brutal and bloody war in central Europe. Just as more than three decades ago, the “evil empire” has no chance of existence. Ukrainians, with their blood and desperate struggle, fiercely repel the aggressor, showing courage and will. Frederick Ryan quoted famous words by President Reagan: “Above all, we must realize that no arsenal or no weapon in the arsenals of the world is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.”