Mayor of Kyiv and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko was awarded the Franz Werfel Human Rights Award in Frankfurt on Sunday. Klitschko had entered politics after retiring from boxing, and has become a prominent figure during Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion. He accepted the award on behalf of all Kyiv residents and the Ukrainians fighting to defend the country. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius spoke at the ceremony. He said that the Kyiv mayor stood for those who had not lost faith in a free and democratic Ukraine. "Klitschko has decided to accept responsibility — for his homeland, his brothers and sisters in Ukraine, for freedom and human rights. He is an example to all Ukrainians, to all of us," Pistorius said. "Vitali has fighting spirit. He does not give up," he added. The award comes with €10,000 ($11,350) and is given out every two years by the Wiesbaden-based Centre against Expulsions, which documents expulsions and ethnic cleansing.