President Volodymyr Zelensky honored soldiers, medics, energy workers and other civilians with state awards on Ukrainian Statehood Day, personally presenting the Order of the “Golden Star” to the mother of a fallen Hero of Ukraine who received the title posthumously.
Zelensky announced the ceremony in a statement on Wednesday, listing former Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal, French Ambassador to Ukraine Gaël Veyssière, historian Natalia Yakovenko, writer and serviceman Illarion Pavliuk, and publisher Anton Martynov among those decorated.
“On the occasion of Ukrainian Statehood Day, I honored our people whose work helps Ukraine hold its ground and preserve our independMore...ence,” Zelensky said, adding that “Ukraine stands on the people who defend, rescue, rebuild, and work for it every day.”