President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has amended the Statute of the title of Hero of Ukraine, according to which preliminary consideration of applications for the highest state title will be carried out by an expert group under the Commission of State Awards and Heraldry under the President.

The presidential press service said that the head of state signed respective decree No. 274/2023 on Friday.

According to the presidential decree, an expert group is formed under the State Awards and Heraldry Commission under the President of Ukraine, which is composed of representatives of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, the Apparatus of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, commands of types and branches of the armed forces, commands of operational and strategic groups of troops, the Interior Ministry, the National Guard of Ukraine, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the State Special Service for Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the State Protection Department of Ukraine, and the Office of the President of Ukraine.

"A large number of appeals and electronic petitions to award this or that defender the title of Hero of Ukraine indicate that this issue needs to be streamlined. So it was decided to establish a special advisory body – an expert group. It will include the military leadership of our country, commanders of the military branches and the operational and strategic groups of troops, representatives of law enforcement agencies who will consider each heroic act separately and make proposals for state awards. Each and every one of our heroes, who selflessly defended Ukraine from Russian invaders, who liberated our land from the occupier and sacrificed their health or life for the sake of our freedom, should be honored. We should know the names of all our heroes," Zelenskyy was quoted by the press service as saying.

If the preliminary consideration of applications for state awards is carried out by an expert group under the Commission of State Awards and Heraldry under the President of Ukraine, the materials are submitted to the Commission for consideration together with the conclusion of this group.