Memorial chairman Yan Rachinsky condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and the battle in Ukraine in his acceptance speech on behalf of the group Memorial in Oslo, Norway on Saturday.

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Memorial chairman Yan Rachinsky condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin and the battle in Ukraine in his acceptance speech on behalf of the group Memorial in Oslo, Norway on Saturday.

Rodrigo Freitas/NTB/AFP by way of Getty Images

A Russian Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate denounced President Vladimir Putin and the continuing battle with Ukraine in an acceptance speech on Saturday.

Yan Rachinsky, who accepted the prize on behalf of his group, Memorial, one in every of Russia’s oldest civil rights teams, lamented actions that continued to “sow death and destruction on Ukrainian soil,” including that the battle was an “insane and criminal war of aggression against Ukraine.”

With thousands and thousands displaced and tens of hundreds killed since February, there is no such thing as a indication that the battle will finish anytime quickly. Rachinsky’s speech occurred simply days after Putin publicly vowed he would “consistently fight for our interests” in continuing the conflict.

The Russian authorities, which shut down Rachinsky’s group final 12 months, reportedly warned him to not settle for the award, as he confirmed to the BBC. In the interview, Rachinsky stated he determined to disregard the recommendation, regardless of threats to his security.

“In today’s Russia, no one’s personal safety can be guaranteed,” Rachinsky advised the BBC. “Yes, many have been killed. But we know what impunity of the state leads to. … We need to get out of this pit somehow.”

Rachinsky and the opposite co-laureates obtained the prize for “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power,” according to the committee. In his speech, Rachinsky acknowledged the civil rights milestones his group achieved, whereas additionally lamenting that it did not cease Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“But did our work prevent the catastrophe of 24 February?” he stated on Saturday, referring to the date of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “The monstrous burden that fell on our shoulders that day became heavier after we received the news that the prize had been awarded to us.”

Natalia Pinchuk, left, on behalf of her husband, the jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski; Yan Rachinsky middle, on behalf of the group Memorial; and head of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk pose with their Nobel Peace Prizes in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday.

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Natalia Pinchuk, left, on behalf of her husband, the jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski; Yan Rachinsky middle, on behalf of the group Memorial; and head of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties Oleksandra Matviichuk pose with their Nobel Peace Prizes in Oslo, Norway, on Saturday.

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Memorial shared this 12 months’s prize with the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine and Belarusian advocate Ales Bialiatski. In its press release, the Nobel Committee mirrored on its choice to collectively award three recipients from neighboring international locations.

“Through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations — a vision most needed in the world today,” the committee stated.