President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and the Security Service, as well as with the families of the fallen Heroes of Ukraine and presented them with the highest state awards.
“When we say that during this war more than 100,000 Ukrainian warriors have been recognized with state awards and 562 were conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine, we always mean much, much more. We are grateful to everyone who is fighting for the Ukrainian people. We thank everyone who is raising such sons and daughters for Ukraine. Everyone who trains, who passes on their experience to our warriors. Everyone who is waiting for our Ukrainian heroes at home. And everyone who remembers our fallen men and women,” the Head of State emphasized.
The audience honored the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine with a minute of silence.
The President presented the Orders of the Golden Star to the families of the fallen Heroes of Ukraine. This highest state title was conferred upon:
Soldiers Oleksii Tsykhaniuk and Ihor Prokopiuk. On May 29, 2023, they were part of a group of six Ukrainian warriors who held back an assault on positions in the Luhansk region, which involved nearly 80 Russian occupiers. The Soldiers were defending the position and repelled two assault waves. When they ran out of ammunition, they continued to repel the attack with grenades. Oleksii Tsykhaniuk and Ihor Prokopiuk were killed in this battle, but they prevented the enemy from advancing.
Lieutenant Mykola Bilous. In November 2023, despite constant artillery and mortar fire, he managed to retake his lost positions. After destroying the enemy group, he organized the defense and repelled an attempted counterattack. During this battle, the Lieutenant lieutenant was seriously wounded, but continued to lead the combined unit and evacuate the wounded. Only after that Mykola Bilous himself was evacuated, but died on the way.
Junior Sergeant Ihor Zamotskyi. As a member of a tactical group of the Special Operations Forces, he carried out combat missions in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. He repeatedly conducted aerial reconnaissance and adjusted fire in challenging conditions, which allowed the artillery to destroy the invaders and their equipment. He also arranged ambushes and helped evacuate his wounded brothers-in-arms. Ihor Zamotskyi was killed in June 2023, while providing cover fire for the evacuation of the wounded.
Junior Sergeant Maksym Otinov. He carried out combat missions in the area of Robotyne. He repeatedly repelled enemy assaults, captured Russian occupiers, including a reconnaissance man and a sniper, obtained important documents, including passports of Nepalese citizens, and led a combat group to clear and retake positions. Last year, on March 23, Maksym Otinov was fatally wounded when he fell under mortar fire while mining one of the sectors.
Senior Sergeant Vitalii Radio. Last year, in late March, he led a reinforcement group that cleared the area and buildings of Russian invaders after the assault on Semenivka in the Donetsk region. During the clashes on April 1, the Senior Sergeant personally eliminated 10 occupiers. On the same day, the Russian invaders spotted the group and attacked it with a kamikaze drone. Vitalii Radio ordered the fighters to disperse and thus saved their lives, but was killed himself.
Soldier Vladyslav Bohatyrenko. During the 2023 battles in the Donetsk region, Vladyslav personally eliminated nine occupiers, including Wagner PMC militants, and captured two others. He helped his wounded comrades and evacuated them under heavy fire. He was wounded several times and returned to the front each time. On July 15, 2023, during another battle, Vladyslav Bohatyrenko destroyed four mercenaries of the Veterans PMC, but suffered multiple wounds and died the next day in hospital.
Junior Lieutenant Serhii Yurchyk. As a platoon commander in June 2022, during a battle in the Bakhmut district, despite being seriously wounded, he killed 16 Russian infantrymen and ensured the regrouping of the personnel. This helped save the lives of his subordinates, but Serhii Yurchyk died of the wounds he sustained in the battle.
Lieutenant Colonel Andrii Husiev (NGU). He has been defending Ukraine since 2016. Near Slovyansk, he lured about 30 Russian infantrymen into an abandoned building and pelted it with grenades. The group under his command repeatedly conducted reconnaissance missions and destroyed the enemy. On June 3, 2023, the Guardsmen were ambushed by the Russian occupiers in the Kharkiv region. Andrii Husiev tried to save them, but suffered numerous gunshot wounds and fell overboard.
Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Sukhovenko (SSU). He was involved in the planning and direct supervision of a tactical group of kamikaze drone operators, which contributed to the destruction of more than 60 pieces of occupiers' military equipment and 12 field depots. Oleksandr Sukhovenko also invented and implemented a method of remote mining of enemy territory.
The President also recognized three Heroes of Ukraine with the Orders of the Golden Star. The awards were presented to:
Senior Lieutenant Ihor Kondratevych. He took part in the liberation of settlements in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, as well as in the battles near Krynky. In particular, last April, he assaulted enemy positions, which allowed the main forces of the marine brigade to advance deep into the temporarily occupied territory. In July-June, the unit under his command repelled up to 20 infantry assaults and destroyed nearly a platoon of occupiers.
Lieutenant Colonel Yurii Harkavyi. Commander of the 425th Separate Assault Battalion. In 2022, the unit under his command conducted reconnaissance and subversive activities in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, where it successfully destroyed more than 600 Russian invaders and more than 50 armored vehicles. The Lieutenant Colonel was also involved in planning offensive and assault operations in the areas of Vodyane, Opytne and Avdiivka.
Senior Lieutenant Dmytro Shemeta (NGU). Last year in February, as the leader of a reconnaissance group, he detected an enemy subversive reconnaissance group and prevented the occupiers from breaking through Ukrainian positions. He personally destroyed the invaders and their equipment and, despite heavy shelling, held back the enemy's offensives. In May, during an evacuation, he was injured in both legs by an enemy UAV attack.
In addition, the Head of State awarded the Cross of Military Merit to 13 defenders. The recipients were:
Colonel Roman Kamyshenkov, commander of an anti-aircraft missile regiment. He personally commanded the anti-aircraft fire operations multiple times. Since the beginning of 2024, the regiment's units have destroyed 177 air targets: 20 cruise missiles, 1 ballistic missile and 156 UAVs of various types.
Major Oleksandr Tsyrkun. On May 16, 2024, the Russian occupiers launched eight attempted assaults on the positions of the 13th Separate Air Assault Battalion of the 95th Air Assault Brigade eight times. Each attempt was repelled with combined fire, forcing the enemy to retreat with significant losses.
Major Artem Moroz. He led the offensive in the direction of Horlivka-Toretsk. The assault group under his command maneuvered 175 meters deep into the Russian occupiers' defense, conducted a clearing operation and secured the designated line.
Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Zinchenko. At the end of 2022, the units under his command successfully transitioned from defensive to offensive operations and liberated several settlements in the Donetsk region; since then, they have been holding the defense of Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region. In the first six months of last year alone, they killed 205 occupiers and wounded more than 500 others, as well as eliminated 23 IFVs, 11 T-72 tanks and seven ATGM systems.
Junior Sergeant Serhii Kosachenko. Despite being wounded, he remained at his positions and participated in assaults, during which he repeatedly destroyed and captured the occupiers. In particular, last June, near Urozhaine, after shelling and assaults, he held the defense by himself until the ammunition ran out. Wounded, he engaged in hand-to-hand combat and destroyed the assault group.
Lieutenant Colonel Yevhen Bespalov. In the summer of 2023, the marine battalion under his command assaulted enemy positions in the Donetsk region; in October, it crossed the Dnipro River and conducted assault operations near Krynky. The Lieutenant Colonel coordinated the actions of the battalion with artillery units for 30 hours. From December 2023 to March 2024, he organized strong defensive lines in the Krynky area.
Junior Reserve Sergeant Ihor Shurda. In the area of Robotyne, after an enemy shelling, he carried two wounded and three dead soldiers from the battlefield, and then ensured the repulsion of the enemy attack. He repeatedly held back the invaders with a machine gun and cleared positions as the leader of his group. In February, he was wounded in an enemy assault, but continued to lead the battle and repel the attack.
Sergeant Pavlo Mantuliak. Last year in August, near Bilohorivka, Luhansk region, he led a mortar squad during an offensive by superior enemy forces. In this battle, Ukrainian defenders damaged a T-72 tank, killed 14 Russian invaders and stopped the offensive.
Lieutenant Colonel Serhii Ryzhkov. He defended Ukraine in the Donetsk and Kharkiv directions. The artillery units under his command destroyed almost 800 occupiers, hundreds of weapons and armored vehicles in the second half of last year. This helped Ukrainian warriors to significantly weaken the enemy's positions, stabilize the contact line and launch a counteroffensive.
Lieutenant Colonel Artem Kholodkevych. He participated in the counter-offensive in the Kherson region. He personally adjusted the fire of the unit, which destroyed an assault platoon of the Russian Guard, consisting of 28 occupiers, as well as a stronghold. In November 2022, he sustained multiple wounds. After a long rehabilitation, he returned to the front. He organized a firepower system in the Bakhmut direction, and since August last year has been participating in the operation in the Kursk region.
Chief Reserve Sergeant Anatolii Movchan. Last April, he participated in repulsing an assault in the Donetsk region, which resulted in the destruction of six Russian occupiers. After that, the enemy attacked the unit's position with FPV drones. When Anatolii Movchan was helping his wounded brother-in-arms, he was wounded himself, but nevertheless carried him to the evacuation point. In 2024, he was directly involved in the defense of Chasiv Yar, where he repelled assaults, commanded personnel, and fought despite being wounded.
Lieutenant Colonel Ruslan Baida (NGU). Last year, he repelled Russian attacks in the area of Serebryanskyy Forest. In addition, National Guardsmen under his command eliminated several dozen Russian occupiers. In particular, in June, Ruslan Baida personally destroyed two IFVs and eight occupiers with a grenade launcher, and destroyed an enemy armored personnel carrier and around 10 occupiers with several targeted shots from an RPG.
Senior Lieutenant Maksym Noshchenko (NGU). Since August 2023, during the repulsion of enemy assaults, the National Guard officer has been directing the fire of subordinate units. He planned about 15 counter-subversive and special operations, as well as 10 counter-offensive and assault operations. While performing combat missions, he personally destroyed about 10 enemy vehicles, almost 30 invaders, and evacuated eight civilians, including three children, from the areas of enemy shelling.