Ukrainian musician Andriy Khlyvnyuk on Nov. 18 declined to accept the Magnitsky Human Rights Award due to the statements of his co-recipient, Yulia Navalnaya, regarding Western military aid to Ukraine.
Khlyvnyuk, lead singer of the Ukrainian music group BoomBox, joined Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Force after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and now serves in the National Police.
In a Facebook post published Nov. 18, Khlyvnyuk thanked the jurors of the Magnitsky Award, which honors journalists, activists, and politicians working to advance human rights.
“I sincerely thank all the founders and jury of the influential international Magnitsky Award in London,” he said.
“You have noticed and noted my contribution to the race for freedom of speech and fundamental human rights, as part of the struggle for the independence of the Ukrainian state, which is insignificant compared to other people and foundations.”
Khlyvnyuk then explained that despite his gratitute, he could not accept the award, which was also offered to Russian opposition figure Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late dissident Alexei Navalny.
“(A)s the father of two children living under missile strikes and a private in the defense forces of Ukraine … I cannot receive this award together with other laureates who are ‘not sure’ of the need to provide my country with Western weapons, vitally necessary to repel Russian aggression,” Khlyvnyuk said.
Navalnaya said in an interview with the German outlet Zeit that she was not sure whether or not it was correct to supply arms to Ukraine.
“It’s difficult to say,” she said.
“The war was unleashed by Vladimir Putin, but the bombs are hitting Russians too.”
Following her husband’s death in a Russian penal colony, Navalnaya has become a more visible leader in the Russian opposition movement. She received a 2024 Magnitsky Award under the category “Courage Under Fire.”
Khlyvnyuk’s statement comes a day after Russia on Nov. 17 unleashed one of its largest aerial attacks against Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. The combined missile and drone attack targeted the country’s energy grid and left multiple civilians dead or injured.
Andrew Chakhoyan