Zelensky awards title of Hero of Ukraine to 15 defenders
Fifteen defenders have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine, some of them posthumously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on March 3.
He said that he had signed the relevant decree on March 2.
The title of Hero of Ukraine has been awarded to:
- Senior Lieutenant Maksym Bilokon (posthumously), who participated in repelling an enemy attack during the defense of the northern city of Chernihiv. He destroyed an enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group and two enemy tanks;
- Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Kapichun (posthumously). Thanks to his heroic actions, the Ukrainian military stopped an enemy column, destroyed equipment and enemy soldiers;
- Soldier Oleksandr Lukianovych (posthumously), who during the battle neutralized up to three dozen pieces of enemy military hardware, received a fatal wound as a result of an air strike;
- Junior sergeant Mykhailo Nesolionyi (posthumously), who died in close combat with enemy forces while evacuating people;
- Soldier Andriy Nikonchuk (posthumously), who defended the Kyiv hydroelectric power station from Russian air raids and missile attacks;
- Lieutenant Vitaliy Sapylo (posthumously), the commander of a tank platoon, who neutralized three dozen pieces of enemy military hardware, died during an air strike;
- Chief Sergeant Oleksiy Seniuk (posthumously), who defended Chernihiv, destroyed two enemy infantry fighting vehicles and captured a T-72 tank. Died during an air strike;
- Lieutenant Vladyslav Ukrainets (posthumously), who diverted the withdrawal of his troops during the advance of the enemy;
- Major Stepan Choban (posthumously), a pilot of an Su-27 fighter jet, who diverted enemy aircraft over the city of Kropyvnytskyi;
- Major Ihor Mikhalchuk, the head of a tank battalion unit who destroyed numerous enemy armored vehicles;
- Colonel Serhiy Musiienko, the head of an rocket and artillery unit who inflicted crushing blows on the enemy in the direction of the city of Kharkiv;
- Lieutenant Yevhen Palchenko, the head of a tank platoon who covered the withdrawal of his brigade from an encirclement;
- Major Vladyslav Prokopenko, the head of a tank battalion who brought personnel and military equipment out of an encirclement without losses;
- Lieutenant Colonel Pavlo Fedosenko, the head of the unit of the 92nd brigade, for the effective defense of Kharkiv;
- Senior Lieutenant Dmytro Chavalakh – for heroic participation in the defense of southern Kherson Oblast.
Zelensky stressed that for Ukrainians, the war against Russia had become a patriotic war.
“Yes, for us, Ukrainians, this is a patriotic war. We remember how patriotic wars begin. And we know how they end - for the invaders,” he said.
The president also noted that if the Russian invaders seize some territory, it is only temporary.
“We’ll chase them off so they hang their heads in shame, the way those people, ordinary people, do, who kick the occupiers out of grocery stores when the Russian military is trying to find food for itself. These (Russian soldiers) are not superpowered warriors. These are confused children who have been used. Take them home,” Zelensky added.
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