President Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously honored former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Andrii Parubii, who was killed in Lviv on August 30.

Other recipients include:

• Hennadii Afanasiev — a civic resistance activist against the Russian occupation of Crimea, political prisoner, military member of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who died in 2022;
• Stepan Chubenko — a Ukrainian schoolboy who was tortured and shot by pro-Russian militants in 2014;
• Volodymyr Vakulenko — a Ukrainian poet and children's writer, who was killed by Russians in May 2022 during the occupation of Izium.

The president shared this information in his address.

“These were special individuals, true defenders of Ukraine and our independence,” the president stated.

He also noted that since the start of the full-scale war, the highest title of Hero of Ukraine has only been awarded to soldiers who have distinguished themselves in combat. A total of 722 servicemen have received this title, with 445 awarded posthumously.