During his visit to the Kharkiv region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the battalion command post of the 14th AFU separate mechanised brigade named Prince Roman the Great, which carries out combat tasks in the defence of Kupiansk.
What is known about Zelenskyy's visit to Kupiansk
The head of state listened to the report of the brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Trubnikov, about the operational situation on the relevant part of the front and interaction with adjacent units of the Defence Forces.
Combrig also told the President about the experience of using drones of various types in the area of responsibility and the features of combating enemy UAVs with the help of EW systems.
The provision of units with equipment, ammunition and other urgent needs of soldiers was discussed separately.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke with the military and awarded defenders who distinguished themselves in defending Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
I am glad to be here today — to see you, to congratulate you, to be grateful from all Ukrainians, from all of Ukraine, for the fact that you do such a great job every day, for the fact that you protect the state, our families, independence, our sovereignty. Confident in you. I wish you good health, take care of yourself and your brothers. It is very important. I wish you all victory, said the President.
In particular, the Head of State conferred the title of Hero of Ukraine and presented the Order of the "Golden Star" to Colonel Oleg Apostol, who has been serving in the Airborne Assault Forces since 2008, and currently commands the 95th separate Airborne Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleg Apostol has been defending Ukraine in the east since 2014. With the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, he participated in the defence and liberation of many settlements in the Mykolaiv region, during which a lot of enemy equipment was destroyed and captured. Since the end of 2022, units under the leadership of Oleg Apostol have been conducting successful defensive and assault operations in the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also presented the President's "Cross of Combat Merit" award to Colonel Oleksandr Lutsenko.
In addition, the defenders received the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytskyy III degree and "For Courage" II-III degrees from the hands of the President.
For the sake of the soldiers' safety, Volodymyr Zelenskyy handed over part of the awards to the commanders for presentation at the place of service.
