International Women of Courage award honors Ukrainian medic

A Ukrainian paramedic and a volunteer, Yulia "Taira" Paievska, is the laureate of the International Women of Courage (IWOC) award, presented by the State Department of the United States of America.

The US State Department reports that the award ceremony will be held in the White House on March 8. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US First Lady Jill Biden will host the event.

In addition to Paievska, representatives of 10 other countries became laureates of the prize: Afghanistan, Argentina, the Central African Republic, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Poland.

"Yuliia 'Taira' Paievska has demonstrated extraordinary moral and physical courage in defending Ukraine against relentless russian aggression. She provided medical treatment to Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity protestors in 2013, and as head of Taira's Angels, a volunteer unit of paramedics, she provided tactical medical training on the Donbas front lines from 2014 to 2018," the statement reads.

The US State Department also mentions that Paievska is best known for her work secretly filming and smuggling video footage documenting atrocities committed by the russian military in Mariupol.

russian security forces detained Paievska on March 16, 2022, as she tried to evacuate women and children from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, despite her clear non-combatant status.

"During a three-month imprisonment, Mrs. Paievska lived in a tiny cell with 22 other women, losing 20 pounds and enduring torture and beatings. Moreover, the kremlin's propagandists falsely maligned her internationally as a fascist and war criminal. Yet Mrs. Paievska refused to be silenced, and since her release has compellingly advocated for Ukrainian democracy and independence both at home and abroad," the US State Department noted.

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Now in its 17th year, the IWOC Award honors women from around the world who have "demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity, and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity – often at great personal risk and sacrifice."

The award's candidates are nominated annually by US diplomatic missions abroad – one woman per country. High-ranking representatives of the State Department select finalists.