The UPA whistleblower was awarded the Second Class Silver Cross of Combat Merit back in 1949.
According to the order of the main military headquarters of the UPA, on October 15, 1949, this award was awarded to the UPA whistle-blower, a sniper of the OUN bush, a resident of the village of Dubanevichi, Horodotsk community, Mykhailo Basaraba (pseudonym Barabash).
Gold and silver Crosses of Combat Merit are the highest awards of the UPA. Our countryman was awarded such an award for the fact that he destroyed the senior lieutenant of the MGB Vasyl Tambovtsev, who was fighting against the Ukrainian underground. After Tambovtsev, Barabash neutralized several more emgebists and local collaborators.
Mykhailo Basaraba died in 1949 on the outskirts of the village of Khyshevychi, Rudkiv district – in a shootout with a reconnaissance and search group of the MGB district department. He did not have time to get married, he did not have children.
“Almost 75 years later, an honorary award was presented to the full namesake of the fallen UPA soldier – his nephew Mykhailo Basaraba. Now the husband’s daughter and his grandson and his wife are in the ranks of the Armed Forces. They say they want Ukraine to end the war in this generation in order to free all future generations of Ukrainians from the struggle. The connection of generations is a great strength and support. In unity and in honor of our ancestors and our history, we will overcome all challenges,” said the head of the OVA, Maksym Kozytskyi.