Lina Kostenko awarded French Legion of Honor order

As an Ukrinform correspondent reports, the solemn award ceremony was held at the Embassy of France in Ukraine on Thursday, July 14.

"It is a great honor for me to present the Legion of Honor order to outstanding Ukrainian poet and writer Lina Kostenko on July 14, the day of our national holiday. When I made an official proposal to the President of the Republic to present Madame Lina Kostenko with the high award, I could not have imagined that this ceremony would take place during the war. But in the context of Russian aggression, to which Ukraine fell a victim, the presentation of this award becomes even more significant," the Ambassador of France said.

Addressing Lina Kostenko, he noted that to characterize her life path in a few words, he would choose "determination, courage, and desire for freedom."

"Your civic activism has always been one of your defining features, next to your great talent as a poet and writer, but it is your courage, your determination and your civic stance that we want to celebrate today," the diplomat emphasized.

In her turn, Lina Kostenko noted that being awarded the Legion of Honor was a complete surprise for her as, she noted, she belongs to "world not famous literature".

"The Legion of Honor is an order of knights and it is a great honor to receive it... I renounce all titles and political jewelry, but I accept this order with great gratitude and dedicate it to our soldiers as they are our most honorable Legion," she said.

Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko also congratulated Lina Kostenko with the honorary award.

"Lina Kostenko became a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor order. This is the highest award in France, awarded by the president of the republic for military or civilian merit. I am proud of having the honor to be your contemporary," Tkachenko wrote on Facebook.

Lina Kostenko is the author of more than 15 poetry collections and one novel.

In Soviet times, Lina Kostenko took an active part in the dissident movement, for which she was excluded from the literary process for a long time.

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