Maksym Butkevych is a Ukrainian journalist and human rights advocate. He is a co-founder of the Zmina Human Rights Centre and of Hromadske Radio. Despite his lifelong pacifism, he volunteered for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the start of the 2022 Russian invasion and became a platoon commander. Captured and sentenced to 13 years in prison by Russian forces, he endured over two years of harsh imprisonment before being released in a prisoner exchange in October 2024. In September 2025, he received the Václav Havel Prize.
Sponsored by Havighurst Center for East European, Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film
