WASHINGTON, DC, December 21, 2022 – When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks tonight before a Joint Meeting of the US Congress, it will evoke two sources of great pride for Greeks around the world.

First, President Zelenskyy will join the Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis as one of only three leaders of foreign countries given the honor of speaking before a Joint Meeting of Congress in the last six years (French President Emmanuel Macron being the other). On May 17, 2022, Prime Minister Mitsotakis became the first Greek Prime Minister in history to address a Joint Meeting at the invitation of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

To see a video of Prime Minister Mitsotakis’ remarkable speech to Congress, click here.

Second, weeks ago President Zelenskyy received the 2022 Oxi Courage Award. This award is presented each year to a man and a woman who show the kind of David vs. Goliath courage the Greek people displayed during World War II. Greece became the first country to stop the Axis horror and inflict a wound instrumental to Hitler’s ultimate defeat. In his acceptance remarks on October 27, 2022, from his desk in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said:

It is important that the Ukrainian people are honored with this prestigious OXI Courage Award…This year we are reminding the world that courage can do things that no one expects. There is no Goliath that David cannot beat when he’s not afraid and takes the fight…Don’t hesitate to say no when you see the cruelty of evil like Goliath.…everyone’s courage is needed.

To see a video of the presentation of the Courage Award to President Zelenskyy, click here.

In his introduction of President Zelenskyy, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said:

Ukrainians chose to defend their freedom, and in the face of fear they all decided to say “No”. And the loudest, most piercing “No” of all came from the leader we are honoring tonight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy…he said “No” day after day on behalf of his people, beside his people, leading his people.

President Joe Biden, who received the 2016 Oxi Courage Award, said this year on the occasion of President Zelenskyy receiving this award:

Men and women of courage can change the fate of nations. It happened during World War II, when Axis forces came demanding Greece’s surrender. But the Greek people had only one answer: OXI! NO! With that one word, they said NO to oppression, NO to submission, and NO to defeat. Greece never bowed to tyranny, and it inspired the world through its commitment to standing up for what is right – a legacy both President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Masih Alinejad carry on today.