On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's military intelligence, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with servicemen of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and presented state awards.

The ceremony took place in the White Hall of Heroes of Ukraine in the Mariyinskyi Palace in Kyiv.

Addressing the attendees, the Head of State said that today he signed a decree on the establishment of Military Intelligence Day in Ukraine, and congratulated intelligence officers on a full-fledged professional holiday.

"I can say with complete certainty: military intelligence of Ukraine is one of the most professional and effective in the world. And this is not just an estimate, it is a fact that you prove every day in the battles for our state, its sovereignty and territorial integrity, for our families, in the struggle for our land and future," he emphasized.

As the President of Ukraine noted, most of the successes of intelligence cannot be talked about publicly, but the indisputable result of its activity is the success of our state on the battlefield, the liberation of our territories from russian invaders and confidence in the future victory.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi expressed his belief that military intelligence operations will get one of the prominent places in the history of Ukraine's victory in this war. In particular, according to him, important results were achieved near Kyiv, on Zmiinyi Island, in Kharkiv, in Donbas, in Mariupol, during the defence of Azovstal and in other areas, as well as in the rear area of the enemy.

"We remember how dangerous the tasks that you perform every day are, and the cost of the victory of our state in this war," he noted and called for a moment of silence to honour the memory of all intelligence warriors who heroically died for Ukraine.

According to the President of Ukraine, Ukrainian military intelligence officers are rapidly gaining new experience and have become one of the pillars of Ukrainian statehood. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, which successfully coordinates the actions of all special units of the defence and law enforcement agencies of our country and is an extremely effective center of the entire domestic intelligence community, deserves a lot of credit for this.

Volodymyr Zelenskyi assured the intelligence officers that the state will always be their reliable assistant.

On behalf of the entire Ukrainian people, the Head of State thanked the intelligence officers for their service and their families.

The President of Ukraine presented orders and medals for personal courage, selfless actions shown in the defence of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, exemplary performance of military duty to the employees of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

The Head of State also presented the Gold Star Orders to the Heroes of Ukraine and to the families of fallen warriors who were awarded this title posthumously.

In particular, the order from the hands of Volodymyr Zelenskyi was obtained by relatives of Hero of Ukraine Major Yurii Nazaruk, who had perished in early June, while performing combat tasks in Sievierodonetsk town of Luhansk region. The Golden Star Order also was presented to family members of Junior Lieutenant Oleksandr Chub, who had performed special tasks in different regions of the country in March-June. He perished while performing a combat task in Sievierodonetsk.