Honoring Heroes: New Titles for Ukraine's Defenders
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously to the prominent political figure Andriy Parubiy, who was tragically killed in Lviv on August 30.
Other recipients of the same title include:
- Hennadiy Afanasiev — activist for the resistance against Russian occupation of Crimea, political prisoner, publicist, and military member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who died in 2022 near Bilohorivka;
- Stepan Chubenko — a Ukrainian schoolboy who was tortured and shot by pro-Russian militants in occupied Donetsk in 2014;
- Volodymyr Vakulenko — Ukrainian poet and children's writer, killed by Russians in May 2022 during the occupation of Izium in Kharkiv region.
This was announced by the head of state in his address.
«These were extraordinary individuals. They were also defenders — defenders of the idea of Ukraine, our independence. Their lives were different, and they came from various parts of our country — Lviv region, Crimea, Donetsk, and Kharkiv. But each of them now symbolizes the Ukraine that showed character and stood firm against Russia,» the president wrote.
He also noted that since the onset of the full-scale war, the highest title of Hero of Ukraine has only been awarded to soldiers — Ukrainians who have demonstrated extraordinary feats in combat conditions, defending the state, our positions, and our people. A total of 722 such soldiers have become Heroes of Ukraine, with 445 being posthumous awards.
