3rd Separate Assault Brigade combat medic Maryna Hrytsenko posthumously awarded title of Hero of Ukraine. PHOTO
Maryna Hrytsenko, a combat medic of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade who was killed on the front line on August 7, 2025, has been posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Gold Star.
The corresponding decree was published on the Ukrainian president’s website on October 1, Censor.NET reports.
What is known?
The head of the Chernihiv Regional Military Administration, Viacheslav Chaus, reported that Maryna Hrytsenko became the first female service member in the region to receive the country’s highest state award.
More about the fallen medic
Junior Sergeant Maryna Hrytsenko (call sign "Mary") was killed alongside two fellow soldiers in a Russian drone attack while carrying out a combat mission on the front line on August 7, 2025. She is survived by her daughter, who was 15 at the time, and her parents.
- In November 2025, the president of Ukraine posthumously awarded Maryna Hrytsenko the Order of Merit, 3rd Class.
According to Suspilne, Maryna Hrytsenko was born on May 26, 1986, in the settlement of Ripky in the Chernihiv region, into a family of medical professionals. She graduated from the Faculty of History at Taras Shevchenko National University "Chernihiv Collegium", had a passion for music, and researched historical Ukrainian ritual traditions.
From 2008, Maryna Hrytsenko worked as a researcher at the Hryhorii Galagan Chernihiv Regional Art Museum and served as chief custodian of its collections.
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and during the Russian attempt to capture Chernihiv, she and her daughter moved into the museum to protect its exhibits from looters in the event of danger.
- Maryna Hrytsenko’s friend Halyna Shevchenko told Suspilne that she had repeatedly tried to join the army since 2022 but was turned down. In February 2023, Maryna Hrytsenko joined the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade as a rifleman and medical orderly. Later, as a combat medic, she took part in battles for the Kharkiv region.
- In January 2025, while serving as a medic in the 3rd Assault Brigade’s 1st Assault Battalion, Hrytsenko received the Order for Courage from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. She was honoured for having "demonstrated her dedication and bravery by saving fellow soldiers on the front line".
Maryna Hrytsenko was also a member of the Plast scouting organization.
