Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Winner: “What We Need Today Is Weapons”

A Ukrainian human rights organization which has been documenting Russian abuses in Ukraine was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today. The group, the Center for Civil Liberties, was one of three recipients of this year’s award, which also went to the Russian human rights group Memorial and to the imprisoned Belarus activist Ales Bialiatski.

Last month, The Intercept spoke with Oleksandra Matviichuk, who heads the Center for Civil Liberties. She talked about her group’s effort documenting human rights abuses that began long before Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine, how the international community’s failure to hold Russia accountable for earlier crimes led to the invasion, and why countries that want to support Ukraine should provide military assistance. As she put it: “What we need today is weapons, and maybe it’s weird to hear that from a human rights lawyer, but I’ll be very honest with you: I have spent 20 years defending human rights, and now I have no legal instrument which has worked in this situation.”

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