During the ceremony on the occasion of the second anniversary of the beginning of the russia’s full-scale invasion, the President of Ukraine awarded Ukrainian soldiers defending the country from the russian invaders.

In particular, by the Decrees of the Head of State for personal courage and heroism, shown in the protection of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, selfless service to the Ukrainian people, among others, the captain of the 1st rank of the 23rd Maritime border guard detachment of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Petro Oleksandrovych Melnyk was awarded with the title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the "Golden Star".

Under his leadership, in the spring of 2022, the border guard detachment carried out the task of defending Mariupol with no stable communication, under constant enemy missiles, artillery and bomb attacks, in the conditions of a humanitarian disaster and real encirclement. In the Mariupol sea trade port, a group of border guards under the Petro Melnyk’s leadership repelled several enemy attacks. In mid-April 2022, the border guards relocated to the Azovstal plant. The captain personally participated in air evacuation operations of wounded personnel and was one of the last commanders who defended Mariupol and was in captivity, he was released after 21 months of captivity on January 31, 2024.

Another border guard, Major Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Svynarchuk, was honored with a personalized firearm by the Head of State.

Major Volodymyr Svynarchuk, together with his comrades in arms, heroically performed combat tasks in the defense of settlements in Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk regions. During these fights the artillery shelling of the enemy's infantry was carried out, enemy armored vehicles were destroyed, enemy assaults, which did not leave attempts to encircle from the rear using subversive and reconnaissance groups, were repeatedly repelled.