Roman Horodenskyi, a Mariupol defender and marine, has become the embodiment of the Ukrainian warrior: a collective image of a defender. He received a special award for coming first place for his courage, resilience and military service to Ukraine. Tetiana Petruk, Chief Sustainability Officer at Metinvest, presented the award to the soldier.
Roman was just 20 when he took up the fight on the outskirts of Mariupol. He held the line at Ilyich Steel and survived captivity and the amputation of both a leg and an arm. In captivity, the soldier lost 40 kilogrammes, but never lost what mattered most: his faith in Ukraine. He underwent 47 surgeries and returned to the marines to help to bring his comrades back from captivity.
Vitaliy Sych, editor-in-chief at NV, commented: “We thought that it would be right for the first name on the list to be a Ukrainian soldier, as a collective image of the defence forces. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are currently defending the country: on land, in the sky and on water.”
Roman Horodenskyi, whose rehabilitation after captivity took place as part of Rinat Akhmetov’s “Heart of Azovstal” project, received the award symbolically on the eve of the anniversary of the end of the defence of Mariupol.
During the soldier’s award ceremony, Tetiana Petruk said: “Roman is the embodiment of resilience and heroism of thousands of Ukrainians. It is people like Roman who are building our future and holding the front today, while tomorrow, they will hold the state together, rebuild it and revive the economy.”
The editorial board selected 100 Ukrainians whose achievements they are proud of. The list was divided into six categories: military and volunteers, society, statespeople, culture, business and sports.
In particular, the NV list included Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, volunteer Serhiy Prytula, military journalist Yuriy Butusov, writer Serhiy Zhadan, tennis player Elina Svitolina and other prominent Ukrainians.
This is not the first time that Metinvest has supported the NV rating. The Group understands how important it is today to honour Ukrainians whom the whole world should know about.
Yuriy Ryzhenkov, CEO of Metinvest, stated: “Every day, we seek solutions, resources and opportunities to help, support and offer a shoulder to lean on. Metinvest, a leading producer of steel for defence and the largest taxpayer in the industry, is one of the largest donors to the armed forces of Ukraine. But all this is not about numbers. It is about the people who are working for victory. The greatest value for a country and any company is its people: their endurance, courage and faith. And I wholeheartedly support the idea behind this issue of the magazine, which is dedicated to 100 Ukrainians who are changing the country for the better.”