On March 9, the National Philharmonic of Ukraine hosted the award ceremony for the winners of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine. One of the recipients in the Publicism and Journalism category was journalist, publicist, and Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Pavlo Kazarin, originally from Crimea. He was honored for his project Publicism of Wartime, published in the online media outlet Ukrainska Pravda.

During his speech at the ceremony, Pavlo Kazarin noted that he has always considered himself a journalist in the past and hopes to remain one in the future. However, he emphasized that this will only be possible when his role as a sergeant in the Ukrainian Armed Forces is no longer needed. He stressed that the mission of journalism is to explain to the country and its people their motivations, perceptions of the world, and the consequences of their actions. According to him, a crucial aspect of journalistic work is reminding society of its core values.

“Our country is now reminding the world about values—about the difference between good and evil, who is the aggressor and who is the victim, and the distinction between peace and capitulation. We must ensure that the cost of our peace is not higher than the cost of our war,” stated Pavlo Kazarin, emphasizing that for some international players, there is a strong temptation to forget these fundamental truths.

Pavlo Kazarin is a well-known Ukrainian publicist and the author of The Wild West of Eastern Europe, a book published on the eve of the full-scale invasion that was named the BBC Book of the Year in 2022. In addition to the Shevchenko Prize, he is also a recipient of the Heorhii Honhadze Prize and the Yurii Shevelov Prize. From the first days of Russia’s aggression, Kazarin joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has now been defending his country with a weapon in hand for four years.

The award ceremony for the Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine was attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska.

The Shevchenko Prize is Ukraine’s highest state award in the field of culture and the arts, established in 1961. It is presented for significant contributions to the development of national culture. Each laureate receives a diploma, an honorary badge, and a monetary award, which this year amounts to 484,480 hryvnias.