President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree conferring state awards on foreign leaders, government officials, volunteers, philanthropists, journalists, and civil society activists for their significant political and humanitarian support of Ukraine and Ukrainians during the full-scale Russian war.
In particular, the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, II class, was awarded to the Prime Minister of Estonia, Kristen Michal. Under his leadership, Estonia continues to provide political and defense assistance, as well as support Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. Among Estonia’s recent decisions is a new contribution of EUR 11 million to the PURL initiative.
The Order of Merit, II class, was presented to the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Johann Wadephul, who has consistently supported Ukraine and emphasized the importance of reliable security guarantees. Germany leads Europe in the volume of assistance provided to our country and has made a major contribution to strengthening air defense, thanks to which thousands of lives have been saved.
The Head of State awarded the Orders of Princess Olga, I class, to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and to the Prime Minister of Iceland, Kristrún Frostadóttir. Iceland provides Ukraine with security, financial, energy, and humanitarian assistance. Among its recent decisions is the allocation of EUR 200,000 for energy equipment.
Recipients of the Order of Merit, III class, include donors to UNITED24’s humanitarian and military initiatives: ordinary people raising funds to support Ukrainians and rallying communities in other countries around Ukraine.
The Order of Merit, III class, was also awarded to journalist and editor of the Japanese-language edition of Ukrinform, Takashi Hirano. He translates and writes analytical materials that convey the truth about the situation in Ukraine and Russian aggression to the Japanese audience while refuting Russian propaganda. He has published several books about Ukraine in Japanese. He also studies and promotes the Crimean Tatar language.