President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska took part in the events dedicated to the Independence Day of Ukraine at Sophia Square in Kyiv.
President of Poland Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrida Šimonytė arrived to congratulate Ukraine and the Ukrainian people on the holiday.
“Ukraine will always remain independent—this is beyond question already. Together, we have given an answer—a historic answer—through our unity, courage, and collective effort. The answer to whether Ukraine should exist, and whether Ukrainians should exist. When external aggression poses such a question to us, to our nation, everything depends on millions of people—each through their actions determines the fate of the entire people, and the entire people, with their collective strength, determines the fate of each individual,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The President urged everyone to remember the price Ukraine pays to defend its life.
The audience honored the memory of all Ukrainians who gave their lives for our state with a minute of silence.
The President presented the Orders of the Golden Star to the families of the fallen Heroes of Ukraine. This title was awarded to:
Lieutenant Colonel Vadym Korzhenko. During the fighting under his command, about 80 Russian invaders were eliminated and about 100 others wounded, two T-72 tanks were destroyed and four damaged, the 12th separate assault detachment of the Wagner PMC completely lost its combat capability and was forced to retreat. Vadym Korzhenko died in hospital on November 29 of last year as a result of a combat injury.
Reconnaissance Spotter Oleksiy Sliushchenko. The soldier repelled attacks of enemy kamikaze drones on the power grids of the Mykolaiv region and performed combat tasks on the islands of the Dnipro Delta in the Kherson region. Last year in June, while covering the retreat of a reconnaissance group, he spotted the Russian invaders, opened fire, and engaged in battle on his own. Thanks to this, Oleksiy Sliushchenko distracted the enemy from the main group, but was killed himself.
Colonel Andriy Yefrosynenko. During the assault, he rescued his wounded brother-in-arms and then continued to lead the battle. Together with a reconnaissance group of border guards, he destroyed an enemy stronghold and eliminated about ten occupiers. On November 14, 2023, he and his brothers-in-arms held the position for seven hours. The warriors repelled five attacks and killed nearly 30 Russian invaders, but Andriy Yefrosynenko was killed by an enemy bullet.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented three other warriors with the highest state awards. They are:
Junior Sergeant Andriy Holovnia. He directly participates in and manages the unit's anti-tank calculations. He also personally destroyed 60 units of enemy vehicles: 30 MT-LBs, 15 IFVs and 15 tanks.
Senior Sergeant Volodymyr Mishchenko. As a member of the 110th separate mechanized brigade named after General-Corporal Marko Bezruchko, he held the defense in the area of Avdiivka and now continues to hold back the Russian occupiers in the Donetsk region. The platoon under his command destroyed nine Su-25 aircraft and two Mi-24 helicopters.
Junior Lieutenant Oleksandr Rogovskyi. He personally destroyed an observation post of the Russian occupiers, stopped an enemy armored personnel carrier with a grenade launcher shot, and also hit a T-90 tank, eliminating the entire crew. Last year in July, he received a shrapnel wound in his right forearm, but continued to lead the defense. Together with his subordinates, he destroyed almost a platoon of invaders in the Kharkiv region.
Four other defenders were awarded the Cross of Military Merit by the President. They are:
Major Pavlo Korbet. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he has flown 224 combat missions. He covered attack aircraft and ground troops. He personally destroyed one cruise missile, six UAVs, S-300, S-400, Buk and Tor air defense systems, military machinery and ammunition depots.
Major Yuriy Bodnar. During the counteroffensive in the Kherson region, he personally established stable communication between military units when the enemy was actively using electronic warfare. In November 2022, he was seriously wounded and lost his leg.
Junior Sergeant Olha Korotka. Commander of an assault squad. During one of the enemy attacks, she was wounded in the right arm, but continued fighting. Under her command, successful assault operations were carried out, positions were taken, and the occupiers were destroyed. In one of the battles, she personally eliminated six Russian invaders.
Senior Sergeant Hryhoriy Naida. While performing a combat mission, he detected an enemy concentration and eliminated five occupiers with a grenade. After a mortar attack, he organized the evacuation of his wounded brothers-in-arms, while remaining to hold the defense.
The Head of State also honored the defenders with the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, For Courage, of Danylo Halytskyi and of Merit.
The President presented battle flags to the 42nd separate mechanized brigade of the Operational Command West of the AFU Land Forces and to the Separate artillery brigade of the National Guard, as well as the insignia “For Courage and Bravery” to the 58th separate motorized infantry brigade named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi of the Operational Command North, to the 77th separate airmobile brigade of the AFU Air Assault Forces, and to the 31st brigade named after Major General Oleksandr Radievskyi of the National Guard of Ukraine.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded honorary names: the 40th tactical aviation brigade of the Center Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received the name of “The Ghost of Kyiv”, and the 103rd separate territorial defense brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the AFU was named after Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky.
The Head of State also presented the Orders of Freedom to the absolute world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and the two-time Olympic saber fencing champion Olga Kharlan.
