Journalist Dmytro Khyliuk received the award conferred by the Platform of European Memory and Conscience

On 6 December, at the annual meeting of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience, Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, who has been in Russian captivity, received the organisation’s international award. This prize is awarded to individuals who fight against totalitarianism and for the ideals of democracy.

Dmytro’s candidacy for the award was nominated by Ukrainian institutions that are members of the Platform: the National Museum of the Holodomor-genocide, the Center for Research of the Liberation Movement, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, and the Branch State Archive of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences.

The award ceremony took place in Warsaw (Poland). Dmytro’s award was received by his UNIAN colleague Tetiana Poliakovska, who will present it to the journalist’s parents.

The correspondent of one of the largest Ukrainian news agencies, UNIAN, Dmytro Khyliuk, was abducted in the Kyiv region on 3 March 2022, during the invasion of the Russian army. Dmytro’s official status is a civilian hostage. According to international law, such people should be returned outside of specific exchanges. They tried to exchange the journalist several times, but every time, the Russians violated the agreements at the last moment. Dmytro is currently in prison in Russia.

We are sincerely grateful to the participants of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience for supporting the candidacy of the Ukrainian journalist. It is a crucial step in drawing the attention of the international community to the abduction by the Russian occupiers and the illegal detention of Ukrainian civilian hostages. Today, according to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, at least 25 Ukrainian media workers have been in Russian captivity.

The Platform of European Memory and Conscience is an international project created to investigate the crimes of totalitarian regimes in Europe in the 20th century and to prevent the restoration of totalitarianism in Europe. The Holodomor Museum has been a member of the Platform since 2015.