Russian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Irina Shcherbakova has said that there is only one possible end to the war in Ukraine.
"I am convinced that this war can only end with a victory for Ukraine," said the historian and co-founder of the human rights organization Memorial, which won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
On Sunday, Shcherbakova said in a speech on democracy in the German city of Leipzig, that only Ukraine's victory in the war can restore peace to Europe.
"There is no justification for this war and the suffering of the Ukrainians," she said.
She stressed that the time will come after Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said, "I sincerely hope that Russia will finally find a way out of this moral and political catastrophe and move towards democracy and freedom."
"We receive the award with a sad heart because we must admit that we did not achieve our goal of realizing the crimes of the Soviet state so that they do not happen again," said Shcherbakova, who lives in exile in Germany.
"Now we have to think about why our voices are so weak, why Russian society didn't want to listen to us when we talked about crimes and atrocities?" she stressed.
"Now, as happened in Soviet times, atrocities are being committed again, in Bucha, Izyum and other Ukrainian places," she added.
According to Shcherbakova, many in Russia have become more realistic about the war in Ukraine in recent months.
The Russian activist campaigned to help and shelter opponents of the war, saying, "Anyone fleeing this war is a lesser soldier in Ukraine."
It is noteworthy that the Russian Memorial Organization for Human Rights won this year's Nobel Peace Prize in partnership with Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialyatsky and the Ukrainian Civil Liberties Center, "in recognition of their efforts in documenting human rights violations in their countries," according to what the committee responsible for awarding the prize announced.