On the Day of the Defenders of Freedom of Lithuania, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was awarded the Freedom Prize by the Lithuanian Parliament, according to the LRT website.

The award was received on behalf of the President by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Lithuania Petro Beshta, after which Zelensky spoke to the assembled parliamentarians, the Prime Minister and the President remotely from Kyiv.

Congratulating the President of Ukraine on the award, Head of the Republic of Lithuania Gitanas Nauseda said he had no doubt that Zelensky's leadership had inspired both Ukrainians and Western leaders to do more to end the war as soon as possible.

"This man has already become a kind of symbol. It is obvious that the man was created for this position at that time. His leadership, his willpower inspired everyone, both those who were directly involved in the war zone and those who stood nearby, to do at least a little more so that this terrible war ends as soon as possible, and Russia learns the lesson for a long time: that evil, dirt, coercion, force will not help Russia to realize its goals, that the desire for freedom is stronger, and freedom will always defeat darkness," Nauseda said after the ceremony.

He also said this award is also intended for the entire Ukrainian people.

As Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė said about the award ceremony: "This is the only possible solution."

The Saeima established the Freedom Prize to reward contributions to the free self-determination and sovereignty of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe. It is handed over annually at the solemn meeting of the Seimas on January 13, the Day of Defenders of Freedom of Lithuania.

In early December, it became known that they decided to award the award to the President of Ukraine.