Zelenskyy awards territorial defense fighters for 165-day standoff
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed decrees awarding the Cross of Military Merit to two territorial defense soldiers who held their positions nonstop for 165 days on the Zaporizhzhia front, the President’s Office reported.
Rifle platoon commander Oleksandr Tishaiev has been in the combat zone on the Zaporizhzhia axis since last summer, leading enemy engagements and holding ground while fighting numerically superior forces alongside brothers-in-arms.
Grenadier Oleksandr Aliksieienko, also deployed there since September last year, repeatedly repelled enemy drone attacks using electronic warfare gear and small arms.
He evacuated brothers-in-arms from a dugout hit by Russian FPV drones with gas munitions and manned key positions under heavy artillery fire and drone strikes.
On Oct. 28, Tishaiev and Aliksieienko were pulled from the position. Despite wounds, Aliksieienko walked about 12 kilometers to the evacuation point with a fellow soldier's help.
Both troops are now recovering in hospital.
- Share: