On the occasion of Children’s Day, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine awarded seven young citizens for courage during the war. During this week, the website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will publish the stories of each of them every day.
The awarding ceremony of the “Children-Heroes 2024” award winners took place in the ecopark in the Kyiv region. All seven little heroes are children who suffered from Russian military aggression, in one way or another showed themselves during the full-scale war and help the defenders of Ukraine.
Before the award ceremony, the children, together with their parents and mentors – rescuers, policemen, border guards and national guardsmen – had the opportunity to play with animals in the contact zoo and feed rabbits, raccoons, alpacas, ostriches, etc.
“Small, but with adult courage and dreams. You inspire each of us with your actions, your endurance and determination. Everyone’s story fascinates and inspires. Thank you for your actions and your heroism,” said Kateryna Pavlichenko, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, who presented awards to little heroes.
The children also received gifts from charitable organizations and the dog Patron, whom they met during the event.
The youngest heroine is 5 years old. This is the animal rights activist Sofia Fortus from Zaporozhye. Together with her parents, the girl set up houses for cats that were left homeless due to the shelling of her hometown.
9-year-old Roman Oleksiv from Vinnytsia also won the award. The boy is the only one who survived after a Russian missile hit the medical center in 2022. The child got out of the rubble on his own. Roman received a brain injury and 45% skin burns. The boy underwent rehabilitation in Germany and endured 31 operations. He is still being treated.
Despite the need to wear a compression mask and regularly visit doctors to recover from his burns, Roman Oleksiv returned to his hobbies. He is engaged in ballroom dancing and studies at a music school.
