Save Ukraine was awarded the “Four Freedoms” international award for rescuing the most vulnerable groups of Ukrainian society from war zones and returning Ukrainian children from Russia and the occupied territories.

Mykola Kuleba, the founder of our organization, received the award during the Four Freedoms Awards Ceremony 2024, which took place today in the city of Middelburg in the Netherlands.

“Our organization has returned more abducted Ukrainian children than any other. We are also working on the rehabilitation and reintegration of all Ukrainian children and families affected by the war,” said Mykola Kuleba in his solemn speech. To date, Save Ukraine has rescued and returned 284 such children to Ukraine, but the scale of the problem remains enormous.

Besides Mykola Kuleba, Ksenia Koldin and Rostislav Lavrov were present at the award ceremony — children our team saved from Russian deportation. And today, they have become ambassadors of all Ukrainian children kidnapped and forcibly displaced by Russia.

The Four Freedoms Awards are given to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the development of freedom, peace, and justice across the globe. The award received the name in honor of the “Four Freedoms” that former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt mentioned in his Address to Congress on January 6, 1941.

We are proud of the fact that we were able to draw the attention of the world community to the genocide that Russia is committing against the Ukrainian people through the systematic abduction and russification of our children. This award is a manifestation of respect for the courage and strength of young Ukrainians who survived a traumatic experience as a result of Russian aggression.

This year, representatives of the Bellingcat agency, who investigate international conflicts and have their approach to getting the truth about world events, received the Freedom of Speech Award. Among the participants of the event are also Zumretay Arkin, who draws the attention of the international community to the suppression of religious freedom and the violation of human rights of the Uyghur people; Sonia Guajajara, who fights for the rights of indigenous peoples and against climate change; Grace Forrest, a human rights activist who seeks to eradicate slavery from the planet in all its forms.

Thank you to the Roosevelt Foundation and members of the royal family of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Princess Beatrix and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roosevelt Institute and the granddaughter of Franklin Roosevelt, Anne Roosevelt, and the Prime Minister Mark Rutte, as well as Ambassador Oleksandr Karasevich and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a warm welcome.