STRASBOURG, Dec 14 - The people of Ukraine and their representatives were handed the European Union’s top human rights prize Wednesday for their resistance to Russia’s invasion and defiance during the ongoing war.

The 27-nation bloc awarded the “brave people of Ukraine” the prize in October. Yulia Pajevska, founder of the medical evacuation unit Angels of Taira, human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, were on hand to receive it during a solemn ceremony in Strasbourg, France, The Associated Press reported.