PRESENTATION OF THE NATIONAL AWARD OF UKRAINE NAMED AFTER TARAS SHEVCHENKO

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the ceremony of presenting the National Prize of Ukraine named after Taras Shevchenko 2025.

The Head of State congratulated the laureates and noted that the voice of Ukrainian artists tells the world the truth about the war, supports people within the country and in the future will tell about new times of peaceful, strong and secure Ukraine.

“I sincerely thank every artist who has become part of our common cause – the struggle for the future of Ukraine. I thank those many cultural figures who have directly joined the Security and Defense Forces. I thank those artists who constantly visit our soldiers on the front lines, hold charity events in Ukraine and abroad, raise funds and cover the needs of a particular unit. And I thank all those artists who dedicate their lives to creating for the sake of others,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

This year, the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in the Literature category was awarded to poet Yuriy Izdryk for his book The Collection.

Film director Oleksandr Sanin, cinematographer Serhiy Mykhalchuk, and composer Alla Zahaykevich received the Film Art award for the feature film Dovbush.

In the Visual Arts category, the award went to artist Zhanna Kadyrova for her solo exhibition Flight Trajectory.

The winners of the Decorative and Applied Arts award in the Decorative Arts category were the masters of Petrykivka painting, Valentina Karpets-Yermolaeva, Andriy Pikush, Maria Pikush, and Natalia Rybak, for their art project Petrykivka Painting: In Defense of Identity.

The award in the “Musical Art” nomination went to the author and performer Bohdana Pivnenko for creating concert programs for 2019-2024.

Also in the “Musical Art” nomination, the award went to the composer Oleksandr Shymko for the sacred mystery “Vyriy”.

The award in the “Publicity and Journalism” nomination was won by the journalist Pavlo Kazarin for the project “Wartime Publicity in the Online Edition “Ukrainska Pravda”.

In the “Theatrical Art” nomination, the award went to the director, author of the libretto for the opera “Mykyta the Fox”, the ballet “Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors”, the modern ballet “Know Yourself” and the theatrical cantata “Psalms of War” at the Lviv National Opera, Vasyl Vovkun.

The Director of the Lviv Opera, a former actor of the theater in Chernivtsi, gave the Shevchenko Prize for drones for the Armed Forces

The Director of the Lviv Opera, a former actor of the theater in Chernivtsi, gave the Shevchenko Prize for drones for the Armed Forces.

This was announced by the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language Taras Kremin.

Vasyl Vovkun is the only one among the Shevchenko Prize laureates from the Russian-Ukrainian war who gave the premium cash reward to support the Armed Forces, namely for drones for the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo.

“I am impressed by the noble act of Vasyl Vovkun, the laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine. He not only sincerely supported the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife Olena, who were present at the ceremony, as well as his children and grandchildren, thanking his native Lviv Opera. Only a real man could say so well about his wife, who was by his side. Honor and respect, dear Mr. Vasyl. You are a true Shevchenko laureate,” the message says.

Anna Semyonova,

“Young Bukovynets”