People of Ukraine handed EU’s top human rights prize

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — The people of Ukraine and their representatives have been handed the European Union’s top human rights prize for their resistance to Russia’s invasion and defiance during the ongoing war. The 27-nation bloc awarded the “brave people of Ukraine” the prize in October. Yulia Pajevska, founder of the medical evacuation unit Angels of Taira, rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, were on hand to receive it during a solemn ceremony Wednesday in Strasbourg, France. The EU award is named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov. It’s the second straight year EU lawmakers used the prize to send a message to the Kremlin. Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny won it last year.