President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded the first cavaliers of the "Cross of Military Merit".
This was reported by the Office of the President.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valerшy Zaluzhnyш, became the first cavalier of the "Cross of Military Merit". The award was also given to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Yevhen Moisyuk, the Commander of the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Colonel Oleksandr Okhrimenko, the Deputy Commander of the Mechanized Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Captain Vladyslav Kalievskyi, and Sergeant Daria Mazurenko, a combat medic of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade.
The President also presented the "Golden Star" orders to six Heroes of Ukraine and the family of a military man who received this award posthumously.
In particular, the highest awards were given to Master Sergeant of the Land Forces Pavlo Bilous and Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Klyuchka, who distinguished themselves at the end of March in Kyiv oblast during a battle with a column of enemy armored vehicles. Thanks to their actions, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and enemy landings were destroyed.
Among those noted is junior lieutenant Ihor Dykun. On March 23, during a battle near the city of Irpin, he was shot while acting as deputy commander of the combined company. Despite this, the battle continued, personally destroying ten infantry, one BMD and one enemy infantry fighting vehicle.
After the commander was wounded, Colonel of the Land Forces Roman Mamavko took command of the brigade and has been in excellent command of its units for two months of full-scale Russian aggression.
Colonel of the Land Forces Pavlo Fedosenko was also honored. As the commander of the 92nd separate mechanized brigade with the beginning of the Russian aggression, he organized and successfully continues the defense of Kharkiv.
Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Yakovenko was awarded for the fact that units of a separate assault battalion under his command, with the beginning of the invasion during the fighting in Donetsk oblast, successfully destroyed personnel, armored vehicles, and motor vehicles, inflicted losses on enemy units.
The Order of the "Golden Star" was received from the President by the relatives of the Deputy Commander of the Motorized Infantry Battalion of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, Captain Andriy Norov. At the beginning of the war he organized the defense of the Kyiv Hydroelectric power station. In March, thanks to his actions, enemy units in Kyiv oblast suffered losses, which stopped their advance.
On the night of March 12, a reinforced platoon of the motorized infantry battalion led by Andriy Norov was sent to strengthen the defense units of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade. The advance of the enemy was stopped, which forced the enemy to use a system of volley fire "Grad". As a result, the unit suffered sanitary losses. On March 13, during the evacuation of the victims, the enemy fired. Andriy Norov received incompatible with life injuries.
At the meeting, Zelenskyy also said that he had signed a decree establishing a special award "For Courage and Bravery", and the first to receive it were units of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo, 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Knights Winter Campaign, 30th separate mechanized brigade named after Prince Kostiantyn Ostrozkyi, 72nd separate mechanized brigade named after the Black Cossacks, 92nd separate mechanized brigade named after Kosh Ataman Ivan Sirko, 93rd separate mechanized brigade "Kholodnyi Yar", 128th separate mountain assault Transcarpathian brigade.