Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has declared a marine who blew himself up along with a bridge near Crimea to repel advancing Russian forces a Hero of Ukraine, Daily Mail reported.
According to the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine, Vitaly Shakun was manning the Henichesk bridge in the Kherson region when Kremlin troops advanced and the battalion decided the only way to stop them was to blow up the bridge, the report said.
It was mined, and Shakun had no time to get out. He texted them and told them he was going to blow up the bridge. Seconds later, they heard an explosion, a post on their Facebook page said, Daily Mail reported.
Shakun’s efforts dramatically slowed down the Russian advance and allowed his comrades to regroup and re-deploy, the Ukrainian general staff added.
President Zelensky has now made Shakun a hero, the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the country’s president, the report said.
In an emotional speech to the besieged nation uploaded to Facebook, the Ukrainian president declared “we derailed their idea”. He added: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared a marine who blew himself up along with a bridge near Crimea to repel advancing Russian forces a Hero of Ukraine, Daily Mail reported.
