Zelenskyy presents awards to border guards in Khmelnytskyi region. PHOTO
During his working visit to Khmelnytskyi region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with border guards and presented them with awards.
This is stated on the website of the President's Office, Censor.NET reports.
The Head of State congratulated the border guards on the Day of the State Border Guard Service, which Ukraine celebrated on 30 April, and thanked them for protecting the borders and for the strength shown in the battles against Russian invaders.
"I thank every unit, every soldier and commander of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for being a truly strong support for our country. This is exactly what should remain the case in the future: we all expect from you no less professionalism and no less ability to multiply the Ukrainian experience of resilience and victories in battles against the occupier," Zelenskyy said.
The President and all those present observed a minute of silence in memory of the fallen defenders of Ukraine.
The Presidential Office website reports that the President presented the Golden Star Order with the title of Hero of Ukraine to two servicemen:
- Lieutenant Colonel Dmytro Oleksiuk. He has been at war since 2014. From the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he independently organized and conducted combat training for the personnel. He evacuated 34 dead and 105 seriously wounded comrades from the battlefield, despite the heavy fire of the Russian occupiers, mines and constant work of attack drones.
- Master Sergeant Oleh Prysnevskyi. He has been serving in the State Border Guard Service for almost 30 years. In January 2024, in the Avdiivka direction, he ordered his subordinates to carry their wounded comrades out to shelter, and he covered their withdrawal with machine gun fire, continuing to destroy the Russian occupiers.
Zelenskyy also presented the President's Cross of Military Merit to Colonel Andrii Bizhyk, whose troops bravely held the line in the areas of Vodiane, Vuhledar, Novomykhailivka, Avdiivka and Krasnohorivka. The units under his command destroyed 43 armoured vehicles, about 300 occupiers and a Russian Su-25. The Head of State also presented the award to Staff Sergeant Dmytro Shvets, who repelled enemy attacks in Donetsk region. During one of his combat missions, Dmytro Shvets was wounded, but despite this, he helped his wounded comrades and evacuated them to a shelter.
Three units were presented with the award "For Courage and Bravery": The 15th Mobile Border Guard Detachment, the 7th Carpathian Border Guard Detachment, and the Intelligence Directorate of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine," the Presidential Administration website reports.
Recently, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded 271 servicemen with state awards, 51 of them posthumously.
