Zelenskyy awards Hero of Ukraine to commander who evacuated wounded soldiers from shelled military unit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine on Second Lieutenant Vladyslav Polsky.
The corresponding document, No. 738/2026, has been published on the president's website.
"For personal courage and heroism displayed in defending Ukraine's state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for selfless service to the Ukrainian people," the document states.
As previously reported by the press service of the Joint Forces Operation, Polsky, commander of an assault company, rescued two soldiers who had been wounded while returning from a combat mission.
"Two assault soldiers from the 475th Separate Assault Regiment "Code 9.2" successfully completed their mission and captured enemy positions. But on their way back, the men were attacked by enemy "Molniya" drones – both sustained serious injuries and were unable to move on their own. A ground-based robotic platform was dispatched to evacuate them. However, an enemy drone shot it down as well… The wounded soldiers found themselves completely defenseless in open terrain, sitting in plain sight of enemy aerial reconnaissance. The next strike could have been their last," the statement reads.
Without waiting for a decision from command, Polsky drove a civilian pickup truck into the strike zone, single-handedly loaded the seriously wounded soldiers into the truck bed, and drove them to safety at high speed.