Tania Matiash, News Editor
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was awarded the Ronald Reagan Medal of Freedom. The medal was given to the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova by the head of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Fund, Frederick Ryan.
The press service of the President of Ukraine reported this information.
Frederick Ryan emphasized that this high award recognizes the leadership of the Ukrainian head of state and the unwavering spirit of millions of Ukrainians who stand up for their right to choose their 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 push to destroy the Soviet "evil empire "and pave the way for freedom and democracy for its enslaved peoples in the former Soviet Union," the statement said.
It is noted that today the Kremlin regime is trying to rebuild the wreckage of the Soviet empire by starting a brutal and bloody war in Central Europe. However, as it was more than three decades ago, the "evil empire" has no chance of existence.
With their blood and desperate struggle, the Ukrainians fiercely repel the aggressor, showing courage and will.
Ryan quoted President Reagan as saying: "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. It is a weapon that we as Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice terrorism and prey upon their neighbors."
The Freedom Medal award was established by the President Ronald Reagan Foundation in 1992. It is awarded to outstanding world figures for "making a significant and lasting contribution to the development of freedom in the world."
During the entire existence of the award, only ten people became its laureates, in particular: Lech Walesa, Mykhailo Horbachov, Colin Pavel, Margaret Thatcher, George W. Bush, Yitzhak Rabin, Nathan Scharansky.
The President Ronald Reagan Foundation is a private foundation established during the lifetime of the 40th President of the United States. Its mission is to preserve the values and principles believed by President Reagan.
In 2019, the US ex-ambassador, director of the Eurasian Center of the Atlantic Council, a former official of the Reagan administration, John Herbst, said that comparing Zelenskyy with Reagan is incorrect.