The President congratulated the soldiers of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their professional holiday and honored them with state awards

The head of state thanked the soldiers of the DSHV for their service and emphasized that Ukrainian paratroopers take part in all the most important battles and operations. "Now, in many respects, it is thanks to the strength of our DSHV that the Pokrovsky direction is holding, our Dobropil operation is being carried out, our Donetsk region, our Kharkiv region, and our southern regions are holding.

The heroic Kursk operation was made possible also largely thanks to the strength of our paratroopers," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. The President noted that, together with other components of the Security and Defense Forces, the paratroopers ensure important achievements in battles, and without the achievements of the Defense Forces, it is impossible to imagine strong results for the whole of Ukraine. "Each unit of the Ukrainian Airborne Assault Forces is our pride, and it is our independence.

It is thanks to such soldiers as you and your comrades, thanks to every brave Ukrainian heart, that Ukraine is and will always be on earth - independent and capable of defending itself," said the Head of State. Those present honored the memory of all soldiers who died fighting for Ukraine with a moment of silence. The President presented four Heroes of Ukraine with "Golden Star" orders.

The highest state award was awarded to: Colonel Oleg Zmysly, Commander of the 148th Separate Artillery Brigade of the 8th Corps of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

This year, units under the command of Oleg Zmysly in battles in Donetsk region and Zaporizhzhia destroyed more than 1,600 occupiers, almost 80 enemy guns, three MLRS, 8 tanks, 14 BpLA, 9 control points, more than 25 cars, motor vehicles, armored vehicles and damaged more than 240 guns, 13 mortars, two MLRS, 11 tanks, armored vehicles and armored personnel carriers. Oleg Zmysly manages a group of IT specialists that automates various processes in the brigade.

Lieutenant Colonel Kostyantyn Revutskyi. During the battles in Donetsk region, he destroyed almost 50 invaders, an enemy armored personnel carrier and two BMPs. In Kurshchyna, his units actually destroyed the 9th motorized rifle battalion of the enemy, as well as 45 occupants, 5 units of armored vehicles and two cars. In the Sumy region, units under the command of Konstantin Revutskyi destroyed more than 200 invaders, more than 30 units of enemy equipment and almost 40 unmanned aerial vehicles.

Soldier Vyacheslav Tkachenko. Performs combat missions near Bilogorivka in Luhansk region, participates in assault and stabilization operations. In May, he participated in the destruction of BMP and 18 occupants during a seven-hour enemy offensive. Later, he personally conducted a reconnaissance of the firing positions of the occupiers, captured the radio station and destroyed three infantrymen in close combat.

In July, he distinguished himself by numerous defensive actions, in particular, he destroyed an enemy BMP with a grenade launcher and evacuated three comrades under fire. Junior Sergeant Dmytro Shavaldin. Since October 2022, it has been carrying out combat missions in Donetsk region. Since February 2025, he has been the head of the attack UAV department.

He personally conducted reconnaissance, directed strikes and covered the evacuation of comrades in the vicinity of Rozlyv, Oleksiivka, Bagatyr, and Horihovoy. Destroyed four BMP, an armored personnel carrier, three armored personnel carriers with ammunition, a dozen enemy mortar and firing positions, and about 80 occupants. The head of state also awarded the soldiers with the "Cross of Combat Merit". The award was given to: Major Ruslan Bilobrov.

The commander of the battalion of the 79th separate amphibious assault brigade of the Taurian Brigade. The unit under his command performed dozens of successful combat missions in the Pokrovsky direction. In the summer of this year, Ruslan Bilobrov led successful assaults in the Troitsky district: it was possible to destroy about 60 occupiers and drive the enemy out of their positions.

In September, in the Mirnograd area, he and his subordinates repelled a Russian counterattack, killing 22 invaders. For the second time, the commander of the 79th separate amphibious assault brigade of the Taurian brigade, Colonel Eduard Kolodiy, was awarded the "Cross of Combat Merits" - "Silver Oak Branch". He became the second Ukrainian soldier to be awarded the Cross of Combat Merit twice. In late August - early September, he organized a successful repulse of attacks in Donetsk region.

Under his leadership and thanks to the well-established interaction of artillery, unmanned and infantry units, it was possible to destroy 7 units of armored vehicles and eliminate more than 100 invaders and injure more than 50 more. Having suffered serious losses, the enemy was forced to retreat. Volodymyr Zelenskyi also awarded the soldiers with the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky I-III degrees and "For Courage" I-III degrees.