Military decorations of Ukraine for the War: Condecoraçõles militares da Ucrânia para a guerra
by Humberto Nuno de Oliveira, Serhii Lytvyn, and Viktor Karpov
Bittersweet, war is tragic yet often spawns many beautiful decorations and medals, often at bewildering speed. The authors have been busy documenting new Ukrainian awards as they have been created (well, so have I but the most I have managed is to add them to the Ukrainian section of my website) and have produced a magnificent tome documenting an array of official awards that have emerged over the past few years, all in English and Portuguese.
The foreword by General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine 2021-2024, sets the scene - the need for awards to recognise Ukrainian efforts to defend themselves against the Russian invasion, drawing on the nation's long history and bringing their honours up to date. This us followed by an Introduction, that sets the scene in greater detail albeit in somewhat grandiose language. The intention is not only to record recent Ukrainian awards but also to celebrate the courage and tenacity of those who have stepped up to defend their nation against aggression. Interestingly, it appears that the authors have not all met but have made use of modern technology to collaborate on this work.
Next comes an overview of Ukrainian awards since the present Republic was established. The first awards were instituted in 1995, beginning with state awards then developing into an array of those made at the ministerial level. This section also speaks of the growing range of scholarly study of Ukrainian phaleristics, which is covered in the extensive bibliography (I'm going to have to brush up on my Ukrainian!). Decorations have been produced with an eye to history in the use of symbols from the nation's past, which has also influenced modern symbology in the armed forces which is also reflected in the awards. Recent events have added a new series of awards - the Honorary Medals of the Commander-in-Chief - in addition to those of the Ministry of Defence and of the State, which were originally designed in peacetime and have now been revised so as to be more appropriate for a time of conflict. All three series are covered in the pages of this book.
In to the first of the three main sections: The Military Awards of the President of Ukraine. This details recent additions to the State Awards of a military nature, beginning with the Cross of Combat Merit (2022) which is presented with an image, the terms of award, a detailed description, and other details. This pattern is followed for subsequent awards, being the Presidential Medal "For the Defence of Ukraine" and the Collective Award "For Courage and Bravery". This last consists of an ornate streamer to be added to the awarded unit's standard, and a lanyard or fourragère for members of the unit. Reference is made to the appropriate Degree instituting each award and - a nice touch - designers are often mentioned.
The next section is The Awards of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine. This details the 2022 revisions of the ministerial awards, a dizzying array designed to reward all aspects of military excellence in time of war. As well as the same wealth of imformation as described in the previous section, there are also relevant photographs of individuals either receiving awards or in action, or further images of the award itself. One interesting detail is that all these decorations may only be awarded up to three times to a single individual. Even whilst Ukrain is busy fighting for very existence, a medal for service in international peacekeeping operations is included in this series.
The final section covers The Awards of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Ukraine. Again a similar approach is taken to each of the plethora of awards presented here. There are sone here that are new to me: akways good news when I pick up a book on medals.
The book rounds out with a comprehensive bibliography of books and articles on Ukrainian medals, the majority quite naturally in Ukranian. There's also a rather neat "visual index" which should help in identifying a decoration you've come across and finally there are pictures and short biographies of the distinguished authors.
Overall, well worth getting if you like modern medals, the awards of Ukraine, or wish to commemorate the brave resistant of the Ukrainian people against Russian aggression. It's an excellent resource that I shall be working through to check the accuracy of my website!
Get yours here:
Page last updated: 13 July 2024