Oleksandra Matviichuk

My heart is with the people in Iran and their fight for freedom. Iranians have come into the streets peacefully, but met with brutal violence. For forty-seven years, the Islamic Republic has prosecuted people with censorship, bullets, detention, and torture. But this  night is special. Iranians are in a communications blackout. Internet and phone networks were on the verge of collapse. It is not a technical failure. It is a tactic. I have no technical tools, but let me send brave people in Iran my love from Ukraine. Ukrainians know what it means to fight against an enormous opposing power while the world is just watching. So, let me make this clear publicly. You are not alone this night! We are thinking about you! We are praying for you! Be confident: ordinary people have much more power than they even realize. Ordinary people can do extraordinary things. It is you who create history.  To democratic governments, international institutions, and, first and foremost, to freedom-loving people in different countries. We must speak up! I call on you, tonight, to demand an end to live fire against civilians, insist on the protection of hospitals and medical staff, and press for the immediate restoration of communications. Let’s help this darkness vanish! #freeIran2026

Díky @ZaluzhnyiUA @prezidentpavel @avalaina @shustry @SawomirSierako1 @ngumenyuk i další za účast na včerejší mezinárodní konferenci @CRoPlus ve vršovickém Vzletu. Bylo to skvělé! youtube.com/watch?v=xeCEu0…

When I was at university, I became the youngest ever recipient of the Vasyl Stus Prize. At the time, I was fully aware that this was a huge vote of confidence that I still had to live up to. The situation is quite similar now.   The European Order of Merit was awarded for the first time in Strasbourg. We were sitting in the European Parliament’s plenary chamber, and looking at Lech Wałęsa, Angela Merkel, Javier Solana, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and other distinguished figures, I suddenly realised that I was once again the youngest in the room.   I spoke about how, after three centuries in the shadow of the Russian Empire, Ukraine is returning home to Europe. And we are paying the highest price for this. Our defenders are holding back the Russian horde, and it is only because of this that people in other European countries are still safe. A global storm is approaching. Europe is not so much about geography as it is about the values of freedom and democracy. And only our readiness to defend them will determine whether it has a future.   I believe in Ukraine. I believe in Europe. We are not hostages to circumstances; we are participants in this historic process. And I want to see how we have achieved the historic goal that previous generations of Ukrainians dreamed of. And how the slogan ‘away from Moscow, closer to Europe’ has become a reality.   And since I find myself once again in the role of the youngest, here is one of my favourite poems by Mykola Vinhranovsky. Below is the sub-line translation.    We are here again. We are the latecomers. The very last. Who grew up from frail mothers In a garden laid waste. I know, it is not for silence That volcanoes gaze From beneath our youthful brows.

L’Ucraina sta pagando il prezzo più alto per tornare in Europa, dice Oleksandra Matviichuk Di @avalaina linkiesta.it/2026/05/oleksa… via @Linkiesta

🇪🇺 Head of the @ccl_ua @avalaina has been awarded the European Order of Merit by the @Europarl_EN during a ceremony in Strasbourg on May 19. Oleksandra is among the first recipients of the award and received it at the Member level.

@vonderleyen @marilena_raouna @sandumaiamd @avalaina @JerzyBuzek @VivianeRedingEU @MichelBarnier @JMDBarroso @EwaKopacz @Sophie_Wilmes Європа нагороджує @avalaina. За документування воєнних злочинів та захист прав людини в Україні. За посилення захисту демократії, міжнародного права та загальних цінностей свободи і справедливості. #EuropeanOrderofMerit 🇪🇺

For the people who build Europe 🇪🇺 #EuropeanOrderofMerit

An important discussion at the Council of Europe @coe with Oleksandra Matviichuk @avalaina, Ukrainian human rights defender and head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Center for Civil Liberties. The event featured the presentation of her work documenting Russia’s crimes against Ukraine, as well as the Empowered / Спроможні project supporting Ukrainian youth and children affected by Russia’s war of aggression. The discussion continued with an engaging Q&A session on justice, accountability and human resilience in times of war. Held on 18 May — the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People — the discussion also served as an important reminder that impunity for past crimes only fuels new atrocities. Special thanks to Ambassador Vebjørn Heines and the Permanent Representation of Norway to the Council of Europe @NorwayCoE for their support and cooperation in making this important exchange possible.

Warm welcome to Oleksandra Matviichuk @avalaina, Ukrainian human rights defender and head of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Center for Civil Liberties, at the Council of Europe @coe. Important exchange with the Monaco Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers @MCOatCOE on our shared priorities: accountability for Russia’s crimes of aggression against Ukraine, justice for victims, protection of children and youth, and safeguarding democratic values across Europe.

18 May marks the tragic anniversary of the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatars. The ethnic cleansing of the peninsula was carried out on Stalin’s orders. More than 46% of those deported died as a result of the inhumane conditions of transport and the deprivation of the early years. And by July 1944, tens of thousands of people, mainly Russians, had moved into their empty homes. Unpunished evil repeats itself. A hybrid deportation of Crimean Tatars is now taking place on Putin’s orders. Since the occupation of Crimea began in 2014, the Kremlin has set out to displace the most active section of the population and replace it with Russian citizens from various regions through controlled migration. To this end, a large-scale system of political persecution has been deployed on the peninsula. Even before Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the majority of those on the list of prisoners were Crimean Tatars. Among them are our fellow human rights defenders Emir-Usein Kuku, Server Mustafayev and others. Russia thinks that truth is the weapon of the weak. But truth is the weapon of the victors. The Russian regime will fall, and your struggle has already gone down in history. See you in a free Crimea! In the photo, the beautiful Zarine Ilmi Qizi Amet ❤️

Art out front of Okhmaydyt children’s hospital in Kyiv, which was previously hit by a missile. 🥺

“Until the end!” Day 535 of #GeorgiaProtests 📷 Droa

On the National Day of Mass Graves, the International Commission on Missing Persons calls for strengthened efforts to address the issue of missing persons through a rule-of-law-based approach that safeguards the rights of families to know the truth and achieve justice. 🔗 Read more:icmp.int/press-releases… #ICMP #MissingPersons #MassGraves #HumanRights #Truth #Justice #FamiliesOfTheMissing #RuleOfLaw #Iraq #NationalDayOfMassGraves

Search and rescue in Kyiv complete. 💔 24 killed, including three children. Russia is a rotten, murderous state.

Russia extended a mass daytime assault into the night, launching a large-scale strike across Ukraine on May 14. One person was killed and 36 others were injured in the capital after a residential building partially collapsed. Video: State Emergency Service / Telegram.

🔴 Russian drone strikes UN mission vehicle in Kherson as footage captures exact moment of attack.

Emotional homecoming as 205 Ukrainian defenders are freed.

“We are not victims - we are fighters” - my interview with the extraordinary Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina ) for @KyivPost lordashcroft.com/2026/05/we-are…

Ukraine’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina ) said to me: “Pessimism is luxury we cannot afford”. Read my full interview with her for @KyivPost lordashcroft.com/2026/05/we-are…

Next week, we’re delighted to welcome @avalaina 🇺🇦 human rights lawyer and one of this year’s laureates to @Europarl_EN European Order of Merit ceremony, honouring her outstanding contribution to European integration and the promotion of European values: europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-…

“That day, we realized the Russians had come to kill us” is how one theater survivor put it to me. “They didn’t come to fight with Ukrainian soldiers. They just wanted to kill us.” from James Verini, an excerpt from his book "The Theater" theatlantic.com/international/…