Hillary Clinton to honor Ukrainian first lady, Nobel Peace Prize co-winner

Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska and Nobel Peace prize co-winner Oleksandra Matviichuk are set to be honored at Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace, and Security’s annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards. 

The Washington Post reported that Zelenska and Matviichuk are two of the four Ukrainian  women to be honored at the annual awards ceremony that Clinton, a former secretary of State and first lady, launched in collaboration with Georgetown University in 2014.

The awards honor women who have shown “exceptional leadership in promoting women’s rights and creating a more peaceful and secure world for all.” 

Matviichuk, a Ukrainian-based human rights attorney who is the chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, is being honored for her work advocating for the expansion of the International Criminal Court and revamping the global justice system in an effort to address non-reported war crimes, according to the Post. 

Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is set to accept her award remotely as she remains in hiding from Russian forces amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards will also honor Ukraine’s gender equality commissioner, Kateryna Levchenko, and the Ukrainian Women’s Fund (UWF) Strategic Development Director Natalia Karbowska, the Post reported.

The news comes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its ninth month, with Ukrainian forces having delivered a series of blows to Moscow’s war effort in recent months.

Still, Ukraine is preparing for a brutal winter with Russian missiles targeting energy infrastructure in what the U.S. has called a “barbaric” attempt to starve and freeze the Ukrainian population.  

Zelenska has become a prominent figure in the war, addressing House and Senate lawmakers in July and hosting first lady Jill Biden as she made a surprise visit to Kyiv in May. 

The Hill has reached out to Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security for comment and more information.