Russian Nobel Peace Prize Winner Auctions Medal To Support Ukrainian Refugees

"Novaya Gazeta and I have decided to donate the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Medal to the Ukrainian Refugee Fund," an article published with Muratov's name reads.

Russian Journalist Dmitry Muratov. (Source: Getty Images)

New Delhi: Russian Journalist Dmitry Muratov, a co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, said on Tuesday that he would put up his Nobel medal for auction to support Ukrainian refugees.

In response to threats of criminal prosecution of journalists and civilians who disagree with the Russian government's official narrative, Muratov's daily, Novaya Gazeta, said in early March that it would delete content about Russia's military activities in Ukraine from its website due to censorship, news agency Reuters reported.

"Novaya Gazeta and I have decided to donate the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Medal to the Ukrainian Refugee Fund," an article published with Muratov's name said.

"There are already over 10 million refugees. I ask the auction houses to respond and put up for auction this world-famous award," it further said.

On February 24, Russia dispatched tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in what it dubbed a "special operation" to damage its southern neighbour's military capabilities and weed out "dangerous nationalists."

Ukrainian soldiers have put up a strong fight, and the West has slapped harsh sanctions on Russia in an attempt to convince it to remove its forces.

Muratov and Novaya Gazeta, a newspaper critical of the Kremlin, said five things needed to be done immediately. "Stop combat fire, exchange prisoners, release the bodies of the dead, provide humanitarian corridors and assistance, and support refugees," it said.

Muratov, who shared the prize with Maria Ressa of the Philippines, co-founder of the news site Rappler, dedicated his Nobel Prize last year to six of the newspaper's writers who were slain for their work.

(With Reuters Inputs)