For almost a year now, Lviv has been holding a ceremony to award the St George’s Badge of Honour (posthumously) to defenders who have been defending Ukraine’s independence since 2014 and the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Today, on the occasion of the Day of Unity of Ukraine, 25 Lviv residents who died at the hands of the occupier were posthumously awarded with the insignia. The awards were presented to the families of the defenders.
“The city of Lviv has its heavenly patron saint, St George. And we also have a separate award – the Order of St George. This award is given to people who sacrificially saved the lives of others. And we are honoured to award it to our Lviv residents, the citizens of our city who defended our independence. And 145 people have already received this order.
It is a pity that all these recent awards were posthumous. It is important for us to remember each of our heroes. Because memory is the foundation on which we stand. We are all together here. We are all one big Lviv family. Our heroes sacrificed their lives for Lviv, for Donetsk, for Luhansk, for Ukraine,” said Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi.
The awards were presented by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, Lieutenant General Pavlo Tkachuk, Head of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny National Army Academy; Major General Valeriy Vavryniuk, Head of the Western Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine; Brigadier General Oleksandr Buravkov, Head of the Western Territorial Directorate of the National Guard of Ukraine; and Colonel Artur Niyazov, Head of the Lviv Regional Territorial Centre for Recruitment and Social Support.
The St. George’s Badge of Honour (posthumously) was awarded to:
1. A serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Junior Sergeant Vasyl Vykhopen. He died in battles with the occupants on 11 July, 2014 as a result of enemy shelling near Zelenopillia, Luhansk region. His sister Maria received the award.
2. Soldier Viktor Dorozhko, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He gave his life for the Motherland on 9 April 2022 near the town of Popasna, Luhansk region. The award was presented to his son Andrii and wife Svitlana.
3. A serviceman of the 3rd Border Guard Detachment named after the Hero of Ukraine Colonel Yevhen Pikus of the Eastern Regional Directorate of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Korolchuk. He died for Ukraine on 11 April 2022 near the town of Kreminna, Luhansk region. His wife Anastasiia received the award.
4. Serviceman of the 27th Pechersk Brigade of the Northern Operational and Territorial Association of the National Guard of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Ruslan Siksoi. He died in a battle with the invaders on 13 April 2022 in Borivskyi district, Kharkiv region. His mother, Aliona Shandorivna, received the award.
5. Serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Junior Sergeant Yaroslav Hadzalo. He died in battles with the occupants on 15 April 2022 near Popasna, Luhansk region. His wife Halyna received the award.
6. Senior soldier Stepan Tolopko, a serviceman of the 28th separate mechanised brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign of the operational command “South” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He gave his life for Ukraine on 16 April 2022 near the village of Oleksandrivka, Kherson region. His sons Nazar and Oleh received the award.
7. Junior Sergeant Ivan Datsko, a serviceman of the 27th Pechersk Brigade of the Northern Operational and Territorial Association of the National Guard of Ukraine. He died in a battle with the enemy on 17 April 2022 near the village of Lozove, Donetsk region. His son Ustym and wife Olha received the award.
8. Serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Junior Sergeant Yevhen Krombet. He gave his life for the Motherland on 17 April 2022 near the town of Popasna, Luhansk region. His daughter Kateryna received the award.
9. Soldier Oleksii Zhuravliov, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He died heroically on 17 April 2022 near Popasna, Luhansk region. His wife Olena received the award.
10. Captain Yurii Kordoba, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He gave his life for the Motherland on 17 April 2022 near the village of Nove, Donetsk region. His son Bohdan received the award.
11. Soldier Yehor Kyhitov, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He died in battles with the occupiers on 18 April 2022 near the town of Popasna, Luhansk region. His mother Tamara received the award.
12. Lieutenant Liubomyr Ishchuk, a serviceman of the 4th separate tank brigade named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi of the Reserve Corps of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He laid down his life for Ukraine on 20 April 2022 in a battle near Synelnykivskyi district, Dnipro region. His grandmother Oksana Mykhailivna received the award.
13. Soldier Dmytro Kharitonov, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He died heroically on 22 April 2022 near the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region. The award was presented to his mother Nataliia Mykolaivna.
14. Serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Junior Sergeant Roman Khamulyak. He gave his life for Ukraine on 23 April 2022 near Popasna, Luhansk region. The award was presented to his mother Liubov Volodymyrivna.
15. Serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Soldier Oleh Skybyk. He died in the fight against the Russian invaders on 24 April 2022 near the town of Popasna, Luhansk region. His wife Olha received the award.
16. A serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, soldier Liubomyr Tazaiev. He gave his life for the freedom of Ukraine on 24 April 2022 near Popasna, Luhansk region. His mother Hanna Mykhailivna received the award.
17. A serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, senior soldier Yurii Samofalov. He died heroically on 28 April 2022 near the town of Zolote, Luhansk region. His wife Larysa received the award.
18. Serviceman of the 111th separate brigade of territorial defence of the regional directorate “East” of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Junior Sergeant Yurii Varianytsia. He gave his life for the Motherland on 29 April 2022 in the battles in Luhansk region. His son Danylo received the award.
19. Serviceman of the 103rd separate brigade of territorial defence of the regional directorate “West” of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Ihor Malets. He died on 30 April 2022 in Dnipro as a result of wounds received in battle. His son Nazariy received the award.
20. Serviceman of the 80th separate Galician Air Assault Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Malevskyi. He gave his life for Ukraine on 1 May 2022 near the village of Zolote, Luhansk region. His mother Inna Saverianivna received the award.
21. Sergeant Serhii Turpetko, a serviceman of the 24th separate mechanised brigade named after King Danylo of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He died heroically on 3 May 2022 near Zolote, Luhansk region. His wife Angela received the award.
22. Soldier Roman Medusenko, a serviceman of the 24th separate assault battalion “Aidar” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was heroically killed on 8 May in action in Donetsk region. His daughters Kateryna and Eva received the award.
23. Lieutenant Bohdan Kryl, a serviceman of the 12th Special Forces Brigade “Azov” of the Eastern Operational and Territorial Association of the National Guard of Ukraine. He tragically died on 8 May 2022 in Mariupol during the bombing of Azovstal. His mother, Liudmyla Oleksiivna, received the award.
24. A serviceman of the 68th separate hunting brigade named after Oleksa Dovbush of the operational command “West” of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Oleksandr Pankratov. He gave his life for the freedom of Ukraine on 9 May 2022 near Pavlivka, Donetsk region. His son Yevhen received the award.
25. Serviceman of the 80th separate Galician Air Assault Brigade of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Senior Sergeant Andrii Shufryn. He died in a battle with the enemy on 9 May 2022 near the village of Zolotarivka, Luhansk region. The award was presented to his mother, Anna Mykolaivna.
“Today’s awards testify to the unwavering struggle of the Ukrainian people against evil and aggression. The defenders who gave their lives for Ukraine are worthy of this righteousness and holiness. There are no words that can take away the pain of loss from us. And reality reminds us once again that we must be united. Our strength is in unity. We are grateful to all our defenders who defend our unity and unity. And may God help us in this. Let us pray in this intention, pray for our military and for our victory,” said the chaplain of the Lviv City Council, Fr Andriy Sidanych.
Afterwards, the memory of all the Heroes was honoured with a joint prayer.
The event ended with the spiritual hymn “O Great One God…”. The event was accompanied by the music of the Gomin Municipal Choir. An honour guard also served during the ceremony.
As a reminder, the St George’s Badge of Honour is a city award of Lviv, which is given for outstanding services to the city. The award is depicted in the form of a cross with a circle inscribed with the image of St George, the patron saint of Lviv.
This award is now given to all Lviv residents who have given their lives for Ukraine. The award ceremony is held on the occasion of major state and national holidays. The first ceremony was held on 26 May on the occasion of Heroes’ Day, when 21 servicemen were awarded (posthumously), and the next ceremony was held on 27 June on the occasion of the Constitution Day of Ukraine, when 26 servicemen were awarded (posthumously). On Flag Day and Independence Day of Ukraine, 23 servicemen were awarded (posthumously), and on the eve of the Day of Defenders of Ukraine, 25 servicemen were awarded (posthumously). Also, on 6 December, on the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 25 Lviv residents were posthumously awarded.
In total, together with the soldiers awarded today, 145 Lviv defenders have already been awarded this award (posthumously).