Zelenskyy asked to award Hero of Ukraine title (posthumously) to former Kremlin political prisoner Mykola Karpiuk
A petition has been registered on the Ukrainian president’s petitions website calling for Mykola Karpiuk, a public and political figure, co-founder of UNA-UNSO and former Kremlin political prisoner who was killed in the war on September 19, to be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
This is stated in the petition, Censor.NET reports.
Details
The NGO "Platform for the Release of Political Prisoners" is listed as the petition’s initiator. The appeal was registered by journalist and former Kremlin political prisoner Roman Sushchenko.
The petition states that Mykola Karpiuk joined the military after February 24, 2022, although his age entitled him to remain in the rear. He was killed at the age of 62.
"His life was marked by decades of steadfast struggle for Ukraine: from public and political activities, participation in the national liberation movement and revolutionary events, to enduring persecution and unlawful imprisonment in Russia, returning to Ukraine and, ultimately, voluntarily joining the Ukrainian military and dying on the battlefield," the petition reads.
What is known about Mykola Karpiuk?
Mykola Karpiuk was born on May 21, 1964, in the village of Velykyi Zhytyn in Rivne region. He was a lathe operator by trade. After Ukraine declared independence, he devoted himself to political and public activities, heading the Rivne branch of UNA-UNSO.
- In 2000–2001, Karpiuk participated in the "Ukraine Without Kuchma" campaign. He was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for taking part in the protests.
- In March 2014, he was abducted by Russian security services at the border in Chernihiv region. A court in the aggressor state, Russia, sentenced him to 22.5 years in prison on fabricated charges of allegedly participating in hostilities in Chechnya between 1994 and 2001.
- Karpiuk spent five years in a Russian prison before returning home in September 2019 as part of a prisoner exchange.
After returning to Ukraine, Karpiuk continued his public activities and later took up the defense of the country as a service member.
On September 19, 2026, Mykola Karpiuk was killed at the front in the Zaporizhzhia sector. He was 62.
