Zaluzhnyi, Zhadan and a star-studded lineup: how did the UP100 Beyond the Impossible awards ceremony go

"War is always a time for honest answers about ourselves, a time for the most important things, when everything matters, a dark time when we see the brightest people. Because, in the face of an existential threat, we find the strength to go on in ourselves – the people who are enduring this battle every day. Today, we will tell only 100 such stories, although in reality, there are more than 40 million. In each of the hundred, you will find something inspiring for yourself," said Sevgil.

"This year's theme for our award is Beyond the Impossible. In 2022, few of our Western partners believed that Ukraine would receive F16 jets. But Ukrainians persistently fought for this, and finally, in 2024, we saw these jets in the Ukrainian skies.

Pilots Andrii ‘Juice’ Pilshchykov and Oleksii ‘Moonfish’ Mes became famous worldwide when they gave dozens of interviews to top American media, asking for F16s for Ukraine. They did everything possible to make this a reality for us. Both of them have been killed – Juice in August 2023 and Moonfish in September 2024. Ukraine now has F16s, and Ukraine will never forget the pilots who pushed these boundaries of what is possible," she said, as the families of the fallen pilots joined her on stage. 

"Beyond the Impossible is a well-known book by Ivan Franko, in which he reflects on his view of national development and the national idea of Ukraine. Ivan Franko said that the implementation of the ideal of national independence was still lying ‘beyond the possible’ back then. But the human spirit is capable of transforming the world when it is illuminated by the light of an ideal and inspired by an unwavering faith that leads to a high goal, no matter how infinitely distant and unattainable it may seem. The impossible becomes possible when the ‘spark of divinity’ – the spirit, the creative power with love – flames in the soul," concluded Sevgil Musaieva in her speech. [Ivan Franko (1856 - 1916) was a renowned Ukrainian poet, writer, translator and political activist - ed.]

This year’s UP100 ceremony took the format of presentations of Ukrainska Pravda YouTube projects, with the hosts inviting the ranking leaders to the stage to discuss important issues.

A secret guest at the ceremony, interviewed by journalists Roman Romaniuk and Roman Kravets, was Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and now the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom.

Also that evening, the guests were entertained by a lively performance by the band Kurgan & Agregat. The guys, who recently raised 14 million hryvnias (approx. US$340,000) to support the Ukrainian defence forces during their European tour, also performed at UP100 for charity. Part of the proceeds from ticket sales for the event will go to assist the Wolves of Da Vinci battalion whom the musicians are also supporting.

Charity auctions are a traditional feature at Ukrainska Pravda events. One of the lots at the auction that evening was the famous poster message from Baba Nadia, whom UP journalists found last year in the village of Myhalky near Kyiv. This valuable lot went under the hammer for 2.1 million hryvnias (US$51,000).