Zelenskyy awarded paratroopers: The day will come when we will thank them for the liberation of Donbas and the South
On Monday, November 21, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented high awards to paratroopers and civilians on the occasion of the Day of Dignity and Freedom and the Day of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the press service of the Presidential Office, the ceremony took place in the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine in the Mariinsky Palace.
– Today we have two holidays united by the courage and freedom-loving Ukrainians… And today I have the honor to award those whose courage really preserves the freedom of Ukraine and whose assistance in the protection of Ukraine is worthy of mentioning in the history books of our state,” the President noted.
Zelenskyy thanked all units of the Air Assault Troops and the families of servicemen. He reminded that paratroopers took an active part in the liberation of Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv and Kherson regions, as well as defend Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
– And I am sure that the day will come when we will thank Ukrainian paratroopers for their heroic contribution to the liberation of Donbas and the entire south of our country,” the President added.
He emphasized that now is a special stage of the full-scale war, when the aggressor country of the Russian Federation has already felt that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can liberate the entire Ukrainian land, and the Russian occupiers have lost the initiative.
– The enemy already knows that Ukrainians are stronger. This was possible due to the fact that all our people stood up to defend our state, as well as because conscientious people of the world help us.
Ukraine will always be grateful to everyone who is fighting against the Russian occupiers, to everyone who works for our victory, to everyone who, without being a professional military, has their own victories over the occupiers, and to everyone who defends freedom with us,” Zelenskyy said.
He added that we should remain steadfast and united to achieve the main goal – the liberation of the whole Ukraine and all Ukrainians.
During the ceremony, the President presented the awards:
- The Order of the Golden Star – Captain Denys Makarovskyi, under whose command ground and aerial reconnaissance was carried out, repeatedly inflicted significant losses of manpower and equipment of the Russian Federation. In October, the military under Makarovskyi’s command repelled more than 10 enemy offensive attempts in the area of Bilohorivka (Luhansk region).
- The Order of Golden Star was presented to the wife of Major Vitalii Bohonko, who was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. The serviceman commanded a parachute battalion in Donetsk region. Despite the superiority of the enemy in manpower and equipment, the battalion under his leadership held the line of defense near Novoselivka. Major was mortally wounded during an artillery shelling near the village of Zaitseve.
- The mother of perished Sergeant Oleh Moroz, Hero of Ukraine, received the Golden Star. On February 24, 2022, he stopped the advance of Russian troops near the settlement of Shchastia: despite powerful shelling, he drove a car with a large amount of explosives to the bridge over the Siverskyi Donets and blew it up. The soldier was killed on June 10 in a battle near Sloviansk.
- The award of the President of Ukraine Cross of Military Merit was presented to Colonel Oleh Apostol. In September, he led air assault units during the liberation of Kharkiv region.
- The Cross of Combat Merit was awarded to Captain Oleksandr Korchynskyi, who skillfully organized aerial reconnaissance and qualitative adjustment of artillery fire. During the counteroffensive in Kharkiv region, his units performed tasks behind enemy lines and on the contact line.
- The Cross of Combat Merit was awarded to Senior Lieutenant Pavlo Krasiun, who skillfully commanded the artillery battery on the battlefield.
And on the occasion of the Day of Dignity and Freedom, Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi of the I and II degrees, the Order for Courage, the Order of Merit and the Medal for Saved Life.
The attendees observed a minute of silence in memory of the warriors who laid down their lives defending Ukraine.
On November 21, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi congratulated paratroopers on their professional holiday. His video message begins with impressive footage of the work of Ukrainian paratroopers on the battlefield.
