On August 24, 2026, on Ukraine's Independence Day, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Decree No. 813/2026, conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Order of the Golden Star on Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi — commander of the Third Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the text of the document on the Office of the President's website, the award is presented "for personal courage and heroism displayed in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for selfless service to the Ukrainian people." In the published photo, the general is shown in the camouflage uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the chest name tag "BILETSKYI" and the designation "ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE."
Who is Andrii Biletskyi
Andrii Yevhenovych Biletskyi was born on August 5, 1979, in Kharkiv. He received a degree in history, graduating from the Faculty of History at Karazin Kharkiv National University. In the public sphere he is known above all as a military commander and politician: in 2014–2019 he held the position of People's Deputy of Ukraine of the VIII convocation and worked in the parliamentary committee on national security and defense. It was in 2014 that he became one of the founders of the volunteer "Azov" battalion and its first commander.
Military career: from "Azov" to the Third Army Corps
The unit Biletskyi commanded in the early stage took part in the fighting in Donbas, in particular in the liberation of Mariupol and Maryinka. After the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, he returned to active military service: from 2023 he commanded the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. In March 2025, the Third Army Corps was formed on the basis of this brigade, and Biletskyi became its commander. In October 2025 he was awarded the military rank of brigadier general — it was in this capacity that he was honored with the highest state award.
Text of the decree and the context of the award
The wording of Decree No. 813/2026 underscores the nature of the feat: it speaks of personal courage and heroism in defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country, as well as of selfless service to the people. The signing of the document on Independence Day gives the award an additional symbolic dimension. For context: on the same day, August 24, President Zelensky congratulated the Ukrainian people on the state holiday, and public addresses to citizens were delivered, among others, by the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio, as well as by King Charles III of the United Kingdom and Queen Consort Camilla.
Contradictory data
On the key fact — the conferral of the title of Hero of Ukraine specifically on Andrii Biletskyi by Decree No. 813/2026 dated August 24, 2026 — all four verified sources (RBC-Ukraine, Ukranews, Comments, SQ) agree, and no discrepancies in dates or figures have been found. The only difference is of a framing nature: the outlet Comments presents the event in its headline as part of a broader group ("Andrii Biletskyi and other defenders were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine"), whereas the text of the presidential decree, quoted by RBC-Ukraine, focuses on Biletskyi as a specific awardee. In other words, this is a difference in the scope of coverage, not in the fact of awarding a specific individual.
Thus, as of August 24, 2026, it is confirmed that Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the first commander of the "Azov" battalion, has been awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star.
