President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Orders of the Golden Star to Ukrainian servicemen who have been conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine, as well as to members of the families of the fallen defenders who were posthumously conferred this title.
The ceremony took place in the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine at the Mariyinsky Palace in Kyiv.
"Every time we greet our defenders, relatives and friends of our Heroes, we emphasize the gratitude of our state to those whose courage allowed Ukraine to preserve independence and our freedom," he said.
The President expressed gratitude to every defender of Ukraine.
"We must do everything necessary so that all of us and all future generations of Ukrainians remember their names," the President stressed.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that today the Day of the Marines is marked in Ukraine, and the warriors of this glorious kind of troops proved themselves brilliantly in the war for the independence of Ukraine.
"The courage of the Marines has many times helped defend the positions of our state," the President said.
He stressed that the Marines successfully performed extremely difficult tasks independently and together with other units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Marines were among the defenders of Mariupol. They heroically defended the city from much larger enemy forces. After that, the Russian occupiers will remember the strength of our Marines for a long time," the President said.
The attendees honored the memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine with a moment of silence.
The ceremony was attended by Head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhny.
