“They are all heroes”: who shows courage and courage during a special operation

At the end of May, Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a meeting of the State Council, said that all participants in the special operation in Ukraine should be treated as heroes.

“Regardless of what awards they have or have, these are people who risk their health and life for the people and children of Donbass, for the sake of Russia.

They are all heroes, that’s right: everyone puts their lives in mortal danger, goes for it consciously, ”he said.

Many servicemen who participated in the operation were presented with high state awards.

Some are posthumous.

Russian Armed Forces officer Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov and commander of the Sparta battalion from the DPR Vladimir Zhoga, who gave their lives serving the Motherland, have become real symbols of fighting spirit in the special operation in Ukraine.

RT recalls their exploits.

Senior lieutenant, company commander of the 247th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment

died on the first day of a special military operation in Ukraine, February 24.

A native of Dagestan was wounded and used a grenade while surrounded.

He was only 25 years old.

Gadzhimagomedov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, presented the award to the relatives of the deceased serviceman.

Announcing the conferment of the title of Hero of Russia to the deceased officer, President Vladimir Putin noted that Gadzhimagomedov was a true commander who took care of his subordinates.

Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov left behind a wife and a little daughter, whom the officer managed to see only in the photo - she was born three days after his departure.

The hero was buried in the ancestral village of Kani in Dagestan.

There he will be erected a monument - a bronze bust.

In Makhachkala, a street was named after Gadzhimagomedov.

Lieutenant Colonel of the Armed Forces of the DPR, commander of the Sparta battalion

(callsign Vokha) died heroically on March 5.

He was mortally wounded while ensuring the exit of civilians, especially women and children, from Volnovakha.

Vladimir Zhuga was 28 years old.

Vladimir Putin posthumously awarded Joge the title of Hero of Russia.

He became the first foreign serviceman to receive this award.

On May 9, after the parade in honor of Victory Day, the president met with Vladimir Zhoga's father Artyom Zhoga and gave him the Star of the Hero for his son.

Zhoge was also awarded the title of Hero of the DPR.

In Volnovakha, which came under the control of the republic, where the Sparta commander died, a street was named after Zhoga, and a monument was unveiled on the Alley of Heroes in Donetsk.

A street in Rostov-on-Don will also be named after the hero Vladimir Zhoga.

Also, for the heroism shown in the special military operation in Ukraine, other Russian servicemen were also awarded the title of Hero of Russia.

• Maxim Kontsov

• © National Guard

Russian Guard lieutenant

died in the line of duty on March 24.

He sacrificed himself to save his comrades.

Kontsov personally suppressed the firing point, which made it possible to surround the Ukrainian saboteurs.

“Having received several gunshot wounds, he discovered and destroyed an enemy grenade launcher and continued to lead his subordinates,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement about the hero’s death.

Thanks to the selfless actions of Lieutenant Kontsov, the sabotage group was destroyed, several saboteurs were captured, and the Russian military liquidated a large cache of weapons and ammunition.

For his feat, Lieutenant Maxim Kontsov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation.

The deceased soldier is survived by his wife and two young daughters.

• Viktor Dudin (right) and Dmitry Litvinov

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

A native of Armavir, navigator of a fighter aviation regiment,

, became the first pilot to be awarded the title of Hero of Russia for courage and heroism shown in carrying out tasks during the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.

He destroyed an enemy aircraft on the first day of the NWO.

During combat patrols, Viktor Dudin spotted an APU fighter and destroyed an enemy Su-27 from the first run.

So the pilot prevented the possibility of an air strike on the positions of Russian troops.

Subsequently, Dudin repeatedly disrupted the attacks of Ukrainian aviation, during the NMD he destroyed several more air targets - both in a single flight and as part of a pair.

In addition, Major Dudin eliminated the Buk-M1 mobile anti-aircraft missile system from the air, for this the pilot had to descend to a dangerous height of less than 400 m.

Victor Dudin was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation and the Gold Star medal on May 8, at a gala reception in honor of the heroes.

The award was presented to him by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu.

• Dmitry Litvinov (left) and Sergei Shoigu

• © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Lieutenant Colonel from Transbaikalia, pilot

was awarded the title of Hero of Russia for the fact that during a military special operation in Ukraine he saved a downed fighter comrade, covering him with his own plane.

On May 8, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu presented the pilot with the Hero of Russia medal.

Performing a combat mission, Litvinov flew out as part of a pair of Su-25 attack aircraft to destroy a company stronghold of Ukrainian nationalists.

When the stronghold was defeated, the second aircraft was hit by a missile fired from the enemy's portable anti-aircraft missile system.

“Lieutenant Colonel Litvinov rebuilt for the downed aircraft and, visually assessing its damage, helped the second pilot partially restore control.

At that moment, a second missile was fired at the downed aircraft.

Realizing that the plane would not withstand another hit, Dmitry Litvinov, without hesitation, made the only right decision - to cover it with his plane, went into his tail and shot off infrared traps that took the fired missile away from the plane, ”the Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement on feat of Litvinov.

Not only the military

Heroism in the Russian military special operation in Ukraine is shown not only by military personnel.

Like real heroes, ordinary civilians also act, providing a reliable rear for the military.

• Svetlana Shcherbina

• RT

Svetlana Shcherbina

from Volnovakha hid the houses of a DPR tanker Yevgeny Donchenko for 12 days, a survivor of the battle, who turned out to be, in fact, the first in the life of a young soldier.

At the end of February, when the assault on Volnovakha began, the tank driven by Donchenko was ambushed by the enemy.

In an unequal battle, the crew of a young fighter destroyed two enemy tanks and an infantry fighting vehicle, but was hit.

The crew commander and gunner were killed, and

, who received a shell shock, managed to get out of the burning car.

• Evgeny Donchenko

• RT

Without the help of Svetlana, the tanker would not have been able to escape: there were many nationalists in the city, and several enemy tanks were standing right in the garden behind Svetlana's house.

The woman did not betray the wounded Donchenko.

When Volnovakha came under the control of the DPR, the tanker was awarded the title of Hero of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Eight -year-old

from the Belgorod region has already become a real symbol of fighting spirit in the Russian military special operation in Ukraine.

The boy, who ran out to meet the Russian military, became the subject of a video that instantly spread through the media and social networks: in it, a child salutes the soldiers.

• Alyosha Pavlichenko

• RT

The Ministry of Defense thanked the boy by posting on his social networks a picture with the inscription “Thank you, Lyosha”, and on May 28 it became known that Alyosha was accepted into the ranks of the Yunarmiya, he was presented with uniforms and an army flashlight.

In honor of the eight-year-old boy Alyosha in the Belgorod region, they even released dark chocolate "Alyoshka".

Women in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, where the fighting is taking place, support refugees and Russian troops.

• Elena Khimchenko

• RT

RT talked, for example, about the elder sister of the Martha and Mary Sisterhood of Mercy,

, a woman from morning to evening helping refugees arriving in the Belgorod region from the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics.

Elena herself was in their place: in 2015, she, along with her two children, left her native Artyomovsk in the Donetsk region.

• RT

Another Belgorod resident,

and her friends come to the border with Ukraine several times a week to support the soldiers participating in the special operation and give them gifts from the Russians.

She has been volunteering and helping the people of Donbass since 2014.

Her friend, 

bakes pies for Russian servicemen.

Elena has close relatives in the Donbass, and in February of this year, when active hostilities resumed in the DPR, her nephew joined the militia.

In an interview with RT, Elena noted that she would help even if she did not have relatives in the DPR.