Nobel Peace Prize to activists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Human rights activists from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a strong rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine ruptured decades of nearly uninterrupted peace in Europe, and to the Belarusian president, his authoritarian ally.Belarus’ Foreign Ministry denounced the Nobel Committee for honoring Bialiatski, with the spokesman calling its choices in recent years so “politicized” that “Alfred Nobel got tired of turning in his grave.” Olav Njølstad, director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, retorted: “Well, I’m quite sure we understand Alfred Nobel’s will and intentions better than the dictatorship in Minsk.” Asked whether the Nobel Committee was intentionally rebuking Putin, whose 70th birthday is Friday, Reiss-Andersen said the prize was not against anyone but for the democratic values the winners champion.3 win Nobel medicine prize for discovering hepatitis C virus Some Ukrainians voice mixed reactions to Nobel prize winners Bialiatski joins small group of jailed Nobel Peace laureates Europe praises, Belarus scorns Nobel for rights defenders Pavel Sapelko, one of the leaders of Viasna, told The Associated Press that the Belarusian authorities will not be able to ignore the fact that Bialiatski won the prize.“The Nobel prize to Bialiatski is both a lifeline, an alarm and a recognition of achievements.” Six of Viasna’s rights activists are currently jailed, while more than two dozen others operate in secrecy, monitoring the worsening human rights situation in Belarus.A researcher at the center, Volodymyr Yavorskyi, said the award was important for the organization because “for many years we worked in a country that was invisible.” “Human rights activity is the main weapon against the war,” said Yavorskyi, who is married to a Belarusian and lived in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, until May 2021, when he was expelled along with his 9-year-old son."