Zelenskyy awards Heraskevych Order of Freedom: for selfless service to Ukrainian people

Zelenskyy awards Order of Freedom to skeleton racer Heraskevych

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych the Order of Freedom.

The relevant decree was published on the President’s Office website, Censor.NET reports.

"For selfless service to the Ukrainian people, civic courage, and patriotism in upholding the ideals of freedom and democratic values, I hereby decree:

To award the Order of Freedom to Vladyslav Mykhailovych HERASKEVYCH, a member of Ukraine’s national Olympic team and a skeleton racer," the text reads.

Vladyslav Heraskevych and the helmet scandal at the 2026 Olympics

On 9 February, the athlete appeared for the first time at an official training session wearing a helmet decorated with black and white photographs of athletes who died as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
After that, it became known that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not allow Heraskevych to compete in this helmet and suggested replacing it with a black bandage or ribbon without personalisation.
Heraskevych's reaction: the athlete showed up for the next training session wearing the same helmet that the IOC had banned.
On 12 February, the IOC announced Heraskevych's disqualification.