Awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize: call to arms for Ukraine

Oslo: On Saturday, a trio representing the three countries at the centre of the Ukrainian conflict will be presented with the Nobel Peace Prize, continuing the fight against Vladimir Putin and his ally Minsk.

Ales Bialiatski, a human rights activist from Belarus who is currently imprisoned, Memorial, a Russian human rights organization, and the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) of Ukraine will all receive honours during a formal event in Oslo.

The Peace Prize may be a tiny consolation for the laureates' spirits, but it hasn't diminished their drive in the slightest.

"Putin will stop when he will be stopped", CCL head Oleksandra Matviichuk told reporters Friday at the Nobel Institute.

"Authoritarian leaders ... see any attempt to dialogue as a sign of weakness", she said, urging Western countries to continue to help Ukraine liberate its territories occupied by Russia, including Crimea, AFP reported.

The CCL has recorded war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine over the past eight years, crimes for which Matviichuk wants to see Russian President Putin and his ally, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, brought to trial.

"This war has a genocidal character," she said in English. "If Ukraine stops its resistance, there will be no more of us."

"So I have no doubt that sooner or later Putin will appear before an international court."

Yan Rachinsky, the chairman of Memorial's board of directors, concurred but expressed his support with more caution given the consequences Moscow imposes on people who criticise the situation in Ukraine.

"Ukraine has to fight for its independence", he said.

"Ukraine is not fighting for its interests alone. It is fighting for our joint peaceful future".

"The choice before the international community ... is between the unpleasant situation today and the catastrophe tomorrow", he said.