President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky presented the Order of the Golden Star to the relatives of the four killed military men, the press service of the head of state said.

"Your relatives gave their lives for Ukraine. Someone liberated the east of our state from the enemy, fought near Popasna, Lysychansk, Severodonetsk, but did not leave the encirclement near Ilovaisk. Someone in the vicinity of Luhansk region, in the ATO zone, gave his life for the sake of his fellows. Some participated in the peacekeeping missions of Ukraine, the UN peacekeeping missions and saved many lives. And some fought off our Ukrainian Donetsk airport until the last minute. Unfortunately, these people are not with us today. Please accept these honors of worthy heroes with great respect. It is a reward for us that we live with such people in our country, and for you this reward is gratitude and bow from the entire Ukrainian people," Zelensky said.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny said that the work on rewarding the Ukrainian heroes will continue.

Thus, the title of Hero of Ukraine was awarded to the reserve colonel Mykola Verkhosmotr, who was a member of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in the former Yugoslavia in 1995-1996. Mykola Verkhosmotr was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously by Presidential Decree No. 535 of October 14, 2021.

By Presidential Decree No. 630 of December 10, 2021, Colonel Pavlo Pyvovarenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. In 2014, Pavlo Pyvovarenko, as a brigade commander, participated in the liberation of the settlements of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Papasna and others, fought for the village of Maryiynka, participated in battles in the area of ​​the villages of Zerkalne and Kuteinykovo.

The President of Ukraine also handed over the Order of the Golden Star to the parents of soldier Petro Politsak. The defender was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously by Decree No. 620 of December 3, 2021. Petro Politsak has been participating in the ATO since November 2014, among other things, performing tasks for the defense of Donetsk airport.

The head of state also presented the award to soldier Rustam Khamraev, to his son and parents. With the beginning of the armed aggression in the east of Ukraine, Rustam Khamraev voluntarily joined the ranks of the "Aydar" territorial defense battalion, in which he participated in the ATO. The President awarded Rustam Khamraev the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously by Decree No. 536 of October 14, 2021.