A man living in Ukraine since the late 1990s was personally sanctioned for his part in raising awareness of the war-torn country among international audiences.
Peter Dickinson was recently awarded Ukraine's Presidential Order of Merit for his work raising awareness of Ukraine among international audiences. The dad-of-two works as the editor of The Atlantic Council and also as the publisher of two English-language magazines in Ukraine - Business Ukraine and Lviv Today.
Peter will also be familiar with UK audiences through his work offering commentary of the ongoing war in Ukraine for media organisations including Good Morning Britain and Channel 5 News. Peter told the ECHO he has "always tried to offer international audiences insights that go beyond the Russia-centric perspectives that have dominated media coverage of Ukraine".
READ MORE: New Labour leader Liam Robinson on football, ironing and his big plan for Liverpool
Peter moved to Ukraine after finishing his history degree at The University of Liverpool as a regional representative for the British Council. And 25 years on the dad-of-two calls Kyiv his home, adding national recognition from his adopted country "means a lot to me".
Peter said he has felt a great deal of responsibility covering Ukraine - none more so than this year following Russia's invasion. He told the ECHO : "One of the first things that struck me when I first moved here was most of the coverage of Ukraine in most Western countries comes from Russian sources. There has always been a very strong Russian accent to the coverage.
"I've always been conscious of the idea of Ukraine not having a voice and not being understood as an independent nation. In the past people have been dismissive of the idea of Ukraine as a separate country. Now after seeing how Ukraine has fought for its independence these last nine months people are starting to recognise it as its own country."
Peter said as "a history bore" he was always interested by the history of Ukraine. But when he moved to the Eastern European country, he found "history was alive". He added people in Ukraine were "fascinated" by their own history and that encouraged Peter to bring their stories to an international audience.
Peter's family comes from Merseyside. Although he grew up down south, his mum is from Fazakerley while his dad hails from the Wirral. The big Everton FC fan said he spent a great amount of time in Liverpool when he was a child - and when it came to university wanted to come back "to experience the city myself".
Peter said his time in Liverpool was "a wonderful period of his life". And when people in Ukraine ask where he is from he says he is "proud" to say he comes from Liverpool. Being from Liverpool has also meant he has been well received in Ukraine.
He told the ECHO: " The Beatles are a massive part of music culture here in Ukraine which goes back to when they were a really big thing in Russia. The Liverpool fans who came over for the Champions League final in 2018 also made a big impression. Ukraine was proud to host that event and the Liverpool fans mixed with the locals really well.
"Ukraine was also really happy to hear Liverpool will host Eurovision. It's sad we can't have it here but people are really positive about it being in Liverpool. It's an icebreaker when I say I'm from Liverpool - I don't think people would open up the same way if I said I was from Bristol or Manchester."
Peter collected his Presidential Order of Merit award at a Presidential Administration in Kyiv. He received the award from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak. He said: "It's meant a lot to me. I feel a responsibility to try and understand what's happening and raise it to a national audience.
"To be recognised by the government was very special - it was extremely humbling. Last month I was personally sanctioned by Russia meaning I can never go there. It's not on my wish list believe it or not.
"I took it as a badge of pride and a mark of recognition. A lot of people were joking when I received the Order of Merit about which was the greater honour. I feel very privileged to be able to give something back to a country that has been such a big part of my life."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here .
READ NEXT:
Faces of 40 Liverpool criminals who were jailed during November
Mum's nightmare after son never came home from Christmas party
Floral tributes for man, 36, who died after falling from bridge
Facebook Marketplace fraudster crashed into tree
Hundreds of jobs secured at Ford's Halewood factory as £125m investment revealed
