President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena took part in a farewell ceremony for 18 cadets of the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University of Kharkiv and 7 pilots who died in the crash of the An-26 aircraft near Chuhuiv, the Kharkiv region.
The farewell ceremony took place on Svobody Square in Kharkiv, where a procession of hearses with bodies arrived.
The names of the victims of the crash were announced during the ceremony.
The military orchestra performed the National Anthem of Ukraine. The military placed coffins with the bodies of the dead on pedestals and wrapped them in the State Flag.
Three military aircraft flew over Svobody Square.
The attendees honored the memory of the victims with a moment of silence.
During the ceremony, a short video with portraits of the dead cadets and members of the An-26 crew was shown.
There were 20 cadets of the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University of Kharkiv and 7 crew members on board the plane, which crashed on September 25, 2020. 25 people died at the site of the tragedy, cadet Vitaliy Vilkhovyi died in the hospital from his injuries. Another cadet, Vyacheslav Zolochevskyi, survived and was hospitalized.
The President of Ukraine awarded 27 medals "For Military Service to Ukraine", 26 of them posthumously. The relevant decree № 421/2020 was signed by the President on October 6.
