Two of them — Mykhailo Karetnyi, a locomotive operator at the Kherson Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP), and Yevhen Petryk, a locksmith at the Chervony Donets Booster Compressor Station of Ukrgasvydobuvannya — were posthumously awarded the State Order “For Courage”, III class.
Mykhailo worked at Kherson CHP for 13 years. During the occupation of Kherson, he was illegally arrested by the Russians and died in captivity as a result of torture. Yevhen Petryk prevented a large-scale fire and saved his colleagues.
Their wives received the state awards from President Zelenskyy.
Three other Naftogaz Group employees were also awarded the State Order “For Courage”, III class. Vitalii Fedorenko, engineer-dispatcher at the Kachanivka Gas Processing Plant of Ukrnafta, organized the evacuation of workers and the shutdown of pipelines during a drone and missile attack.
Volodymyr Voloshko, compressor station operations manager at Ukrgasvydobuvannya, saved his colleagues’ lives and minimized the consequences of shelling despite being injured at the time.
The award was also given to Viacheslav Kharchenko, special equipment machinist at Poltavagazvydobuvannya, who rescued a wounded Ukrainian soldier and took part in eliminating the consequences of a missile strike.
I thank you for your courage. I thank you for your efficiency, for quality work. I thank all our drillers, geologists, fitters, engineers, dispatchers — everyone. Thank you for ensuring that Ukrainians made it through the winters of war. We remember what a price this comes at,” commented Zelenskyy.
Another three Naftogaz Group employees received the State Orders of Merit, III class from President Zelenskyy:
- Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Kupiansk branch of Gas Networks, who in the first days of the invasion organized the protection of facilities and restored operations in the Izium and Kupiansk areas after de-occupation;
- Oleh Fomych, excavator machinist at the Mykolaiv branch of Gas Networks, who took part in restoring gas supply in the region while under constant shelling;
- Oksana Starodubtseva, master of the emergency dispatch service at the Marhanets branch of Gas Networks, who continues to repair damage in the combat zone despite her own house being destroyed.
I sincerely thank each and every one in Naftogaz Group for your dedication to your work. It is an honor to work alongside you,” emphasized Sergii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz.
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