President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the celebrations on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the National Guard of Ukraine. Zelenskyy said that the National Guard, along with other soldiers of the Defense and Security Forces, are participating in battles against Russia, fighting strongly and courageously, UNN reports.
The aerial reconnaissance units of the National Guard are extremely effective in terms of the number of Russian equipment and enemy soldiers destroyed. The National Guard has more than 500 mobile and stationary fire groups that destroy Russian missiles and drones every day. The National Guard sappers are doing a great job of clearing our land of Russian mines. In addition to combat, the National Guard of Ukraine also performs a protective function within our country - it helps to eliminate the consequences of Russian strikes and maintains security
The President emphasized that Ukrainian history will always remember the heroic pages written by the soldiers of the National Guard units since 2014.
"Defense of Kharkiv and Defense of Kyiv Region. Fighting against Russian terrorists in the 14th year in Donbas and protecting life in Donbas now. Heroism in the toughest confrontations. Ukraine will always be grateful to the soldiers of the National Guard, in particular to the soldiers of the Azov unit who defended Mariupol and Azovstal," the President said.
According to the Head of State, more than nine thousand National Guardsmen have already been awarded state decorations, 48 of them have been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.
The audience observed a minute of silence in memory of the fallen defenders.
The President presented state awards to the servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine.
In order to recognize the high professionalism, combat merits, courage and bravery of the personnel, the Head of State also conferred honorary titles and presented combat flags to the military units of the NGU.