A petition to award the honorary title of Hero of Ukraine (posthumously) to Gennadiy Afanasiev, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a former political prisoner, a fighter for Ukrainian Crimea, has received the necessary number of votes for consideration, UNN reports.
"We call on you to support the petition to award the honorary title of Hero of Ukraine (posthumously) to Gennadiy Afanasiev, a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a former political prisoner, a fighter for Ukrainian Crimea," reads the text of the petition posted on the website of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The petition was published on January 11, 2024. Its author is Valeria Rezanova.
As of now, 2,569 people have supported the initiative to award the honorary title of Hero of Ukraine to Gennadiy Afanasiev.
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Gennadiy Afanasyev was an activist of civil resistance to the Russian occupation of Crimea. In 2014, he became a political prisoner of the Kremlin, spending 767 days in jail. Despite the abuse, torture and psychological pressure, he survived.
After gaining his freedom as a result of the exchange in 2016, he became one of the leaders of the movement for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners: he participated in international meetings, initiated public events, exhibitions, charity evenings, and served as a pro bono special representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on the release of prisoners. He described his experience in prisons in his book "Getting Up After Falling", which has been translated into many languages. Gennadiy independently launched and taught free IT courses for ATO veterans and their families to help them socialize after the war and get a high-paying profession.
On February 24, 2022, without waiting for a call-up, Hennadii volunteered from the first day of the full-scale invasion. He left his young wife and tiny daughter at home. He defended Ukraine from the Russian invasion in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions as part of the 130th Battalion of the 241st Brigade. Among his comrades, Hennadii received the call sign "Thor" in honor of the Scandinavian god of thunder and lightning. On December 18, 2022, the 32-year-old Defender of Ukraine died in the Luhansk region near Bilohorivka. He was posthumously awarded the Order "For Courage" of the III degree.