Putin presented Gold Star medals to nine Heroes of Russia – Kommersant

President Vladimir Putin after the Board of the Ministry of Defense handed over “Gold Star” medal of Hero of Russia to nine participants in the fighting in Ukraine. The award ceremony took place at the National Defense Management Center on Frunzenskaya Embankment.

The title of Hero of Russia was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Irkhin, Major Andrei Mityashin, Captain Ainur Safiullin, Senior Lieutenant Roman Debely, Lieutenant Temirlan Abutalimov, Junior Lieutenant Alexey Spesivtsev, Sergeant Evgeniy Supakov, Junior Sergeant Vyacheslav Matskevich and Private Evgeniy Kudinov.

“I thank you and your fellow soldiers, without them you probably would not have been able to do what you did. “Thank you for your courage and fortitude,” said Vladimir Putin during the presentation. In response to gratitude, one of the awardees, Roman Debely, stated that the “Golden Star” is a high award not only for himself, but also for his unit.

“The unit in which I serve has been in the zone of military operations since the first days, conducting combat missions. Our guys took part in the assaults on Mariupol, in the Zaporozhye region. <...> We will be with you to the end and will continue to defend our Motherland. I’ve finished the report,” said Mr. Debely.

This morning the head of Dagestan Sergei Melikov said in Telegram channelthat Temirlan Abutalimov became the eighth native of the republic to be awarded the title of Hero of Russia. As Mr. Melikov reported, in one of the battles in the Zaporozhye region, Temirlan Abutalimov was wounded, but he continued the fight, “despite the fact that the enemy was superior to our fighters in strength.”

Today, December 19, the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu stated that among the military, 320 thousand people have already received state awards, among them 272 have been awarded the title of Hero of Russia. The Gold Star medal was established in 1992 as an insignia for the title of Hero of Russia. The title is awarded by the president for services to the state and people associated with the accomplishment of a heroic feat.

About what happens after the entry of Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine – in online broadcasts “Ъ”.