The Center for Civil Liberties reported that Oleksiy Anula managed to preserve his dignity and inner freedom despite facing hunger and severe mistreatment.
The Igor Kozlovsky Award was established in 2025 to honor those who uphold dignity across various fields, including culture, education, politics, business, media, military affairs, and science.
The main goal of the award is to emphasize the importance of human rights advocacy as a daily practice.
This year, the award took place for the first time, receiving over a hundred nominations from across Ukraine. An independent jury selected three finalists:
Oleh Miroshnychenko — for his active role in advocating for changes in government regulations regarding disability recognition due to Russian attacks.
The "Platsdarm" Association — for their efforts in repatriating fallen soldiers.
Oleksiy Anula — for documenting the experiences of Russian captivity and actively supporting the release of Ukrainian prisoners.
The Center for Civil Liberties shared on Instagram that veteran Oleksiy Anula was awarded the prize for his contributions to upholding human dignity and documenting his experiences in Russian captivity.
After his release, Oleksiy has been supporting the families of captives and testifying about Russian war crimes. In 2025, he published a book titled Jingle Bellz, reflecting on his personal experiences in Russian captivity.
Oleksiy emphasized that hundreds of thousands of people are working tirelessly to ensure our country remains strong, despite the pressure from enemies and traitors.
"Dignity is when you can give a part of yourself for the good of others, for your homeland, for your family," he added.
The award statuette was presented to Oleksiy's mother during a ceremonial event.
Oleksiy was captured in March 2022 near Chernihiv.
He recognized the Russian general who interrogated him; it was Yevgeniy Poplavsky from Donetsk.
In December 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine announced suspicions against Poplavsky for his involvement in the repression of Ukrainians.
Oleksiy found the general within a month and continues to expose war criminals.
