Click on the player icon above for an audio report by Marcin Matuszewski.
The Paweł Adamowicz Award symbolizes the fight against hatred and the effort to build strong, resilient societies—a significant gesture of solidarity with Ukraine, according to Bogdan Zdrojewski, a European Parliament member and former mayor of Wrocław in southwestern Poland.
Paweł Adamowicz, the late mayor of Gdańsk on Poland's Baltic coast, was a dedicated advocate for democracy and inclusion before his tragic assassination in 2019.
The ceremony took place during a session of the European Committee of the Regions and was attended by Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, who is also a candidate for Poland’s presidency.
Speaking to reporters, Trzaskowski praised Klitschko as a symbol of patriotism and resilience, highlighting his courage, leadership and solidarity in the face of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
"With his strength and unwavering courage, Vitali is leading Kyiv through the darkest hours in its history of independence. Vitali Klitschko is the Churchill of Kyiv, just as Volodymyr Zelensky is the Churchill of Ukraine," wrote Magdalena Adamowicz, a Polish MEP and widow of Paweł Adamowicz, in a post on X, congratulating the Kyiv mayor on the recognition.
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Source: IAR/X/@RadioZagranica/@trzaskowski_/@Adamowicz_Magda