The author of the legendary phrase about a russian ship, a Ukrainian border guard from Cherkasy, was awarded the medal “For services to Cherkasy region.”

Militarnyi reports about it with reference to Ihor Taburets, Head of the Regional Military Administration.

Ukrainian border guard Roman Hrybov, who participated in defense of Zmiinyi Island and refused to surrender without a fight to a russian warship, was awarded the award “For services to Cherkasy region”.

“I had the honor to welcome our, without exaggeration, legendary soldier to our homeland. Roman participated in defense of Zmiinyi Island. The Cherkasy resident and his fellow soldiers demonstrated to the whole world the firmness and strength of the Ukrainian spirit, our inviolability,” said Taburets on Tuesday.

Earlier, on Thursday, March 24, Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, said that the first full-fledged exchange of prisoners of war between Ukraine and the russia took place.

​​Today, following an order from President Volodymyr Zelensky, the first fully-fledged exchange of prisoners of war happened. In exchange for ten captured invaders, we pulled out ten of our servicemen,”- wrote Vereschuk on Facebook.

In addition, 11 civilian russian sailors rescued from a shipwreck near Odesa were exchanged for 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors from the “Sapphire” rescue ship seized by the invaders while it was trying to save Ukrainian servicemen from Zmiinyi Island.