On June 29 (Sunday), the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree posthumously awarding Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustimenko - a pilot of the first rank - with the title “Hero of Ukraine“, reports Channel 24, Focus.
The corresponding decree No. 444/2025 was published on the official website of the Presidential Office.
“For personal courage and heroism shown in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as for selfless service to the Ukrainian people, by a decree on awarding the title ‘Hero of Ukraine’ I am awarding with the order ‘Gold Star’ Colonel Maxim Yurievich Ustimenko (posthumously)“, the document states.