Megan

It's quite hard to make them out, and the full array is not visible... but I can see:- 1/ Order of St Andrew (light blue ribbon at the top) 2/ 3 Order of Lenin (1st row of cushions) 3/ Order of the Red Banner of Labour 4/ Order of Honour 5/ Possibly Medal for Maintaining Public Order Below that there seems to be some order sashes. I can make out the Order of St Agatha from San Marino (dark red with yellow and white edges) and the German (probably West Germany at the time of award) Order of Merit - which had several classes for which a sash & star formed the insignia, I need more detail to say which class it is!). Oh, for a decent image

Magic.... guess which 2 pages of my site I was working on at this very moment

Had a hunt online.... neither book seems to be available. May hit up my university's Inter-Library Loans service... well, it IS research (just not in the discipline the University hired me for!).

Oh, Great Dane, you are wonderful!!! Thank you so much. Yes, I do know about the medal for Iceland's Red Cross, thank you, & I have eMedals' images (they, kind souls, have given me the run of their site as far as image use is concerned!). Just need to add black backgrounds... Do either of your sources give the date the Björnsson medal was established or terms of award? PS. I need your real name for the acknowledgements, please! PM if you prefer.

To blow the dust off this thread, seeing as I am tidying up the Iceland section of my website... I believe there was a Commemorative Medal for the first President Mr Svein Björnsson but have no images or information. Does anyone know about it? Likewise a Medal of Skálholt, belueved to have been established in 1963, but again proving to be remarkably elusive. Finally, the Icelandic Crisis Response Force Medal - I have seen a picture of this in wear (just having been awarded, it looks like), but no information on terms of award, etc. Here's the picture. Can anyone help?

They are really trying to confuse us!!! Best get back to my marking. More later.

Thank you... I try to record everything that looks like a medal because in the future the information as to what's official and what's not may be unavailable. As for the one you show above, I found something almost identical that was named Medal "Patriot of Independent Ukraine" - Медаль «Патріот Незалежної України» Maybe more tomorrow, dearly beloved has got the beer out!

I have just found a whole stack of completely unofficial medals - do you lot want images of them as well? Lots of these turn up with a blank award document so if you fancy some 'bling' you can buy one and fill it out to yourself! Trying to match up 'official' ones - which I class as awards made by state, president, government departments, cities/regions, and the church - with documents establishing them.

Thank you. It's fun trying to find the best way to organise all of these on my site. Your help is invaluable!

Bless you for all these riches.... but how official are these? Most seem to be from veterans' organisations or produced by medal/badge manufacturers for sale. They need documenting, to be sure, but it's best to be clear what they are, more souvenir than award. You'll keep me busy for weeks... along with all the unofficial 'awards' I've discovered while trying to research Ukrainian orders, decorations and medals! But don't stop... this is fantastic!

I repeat: keep this thread for discussing the orders, decorations, and medals of Ukraine. This is not the place for political commentary, thank you.

Thanks, Antonio. The first link is the one I posted a translation of earlier... so folks can check the original & have a good laugh at my language skills. It's great to have this original source material doctumented!

A State award, yes? Where does it go in the order of precedence? Is the Presidential Decree anywhere to be found? ... stops asking questions, translates name of award into Ukrainian and promptly finds the Ukrainian Wikipedia page. Yes, state award. Goes after the 2014 awards for anti-terrorist operations. And here is the decree: https://www.president.gov.ua/documents/5592022-43549?_x_tr_sl=uk&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc Not had time to translate yet and I am teaching in about half an hour! Best lunch hour ever!!!

Oooh... that's a better image than I found of the Cross of Military Merit (well, in excuse it was on 7 May that I found the one that's now on my site!). Here is the text of Decree of the President of Ukraine of 5 May 2022 № 314/2022 "On the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit"- please excuse inexpert translation, still working on Ukrainian DECREE OF THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE №314 / 2022 About the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit" In order to honour the defenders of the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in accordance with paragraph 25 of the first part of Article 106 of the Constitution of Ukraine, Articles 4 and 12 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Awards of Ukraine" 1. To establish the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit". 2. To approve the following: Regulations on the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit"; Drawing of the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit"; Drawing of the sample Diploma form for the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit". 3. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine together with the State Administration of Ukraine with the participation of the National Bank of Ukraine to ensure the production of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit", re-award badges, forms of diplomas and cases to them and decide in the prescribed manner on financial support. 4. This Decree shall enter into force on the day of its publication. President of Ukraine V. ZELENSKY May 5, 2022 APPROVED By decree of the President of Ukraine of 5 May 2022 №314 / 2022 POSITION on the award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit" 1. The award of the President of Ukraine "Cross of Military Merit" (hereinafter - the Cross of Military Merit) is established to honor servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, for: - outstanding personal courage and bravery or outstanding heroic deed during the performance of a combat mission in conditions of danger to life and direct confrontation with the enemy; - outstanding achievements in the management of troops (forces) during military (combat) operations. 2. Citizens of Ukraine, foreigners and stateless persons may be awarded the Cross of Military Merit. 3. Rewarding of the Cross of Military Merit is carried out by the decree of the President of Ukraine. 4. The same person may be awarded the Cross of Military Merit no more than three times. 5. Rewarding of the Cross of Military Merit may be carried out posthumously. 6. Submission to the awarding of the Cross of Military Merit and its presentation shall be made in accordance with the Procedure for Submission to the Awarding and Presentation of State Awards of Ukraine, approved by the Decree of the President of Ukraine of February 19, 2003 № 138/2003. In case of submission to the award for the second and third time in the award letter, a corresponding note is made. 7. A person awarded the Cross of Military Merit for the first time shall be presented with a cross in a case and a diploma of the established standard. A person awarded the Cross of Military Merit for the second time is awarded a second award badge for placement on the cross ribbon, a second award badge for placement on the cross bar in a case, as well as a diploma of the established pattern. The person awarded the Cross of Military Merit for the third time is awarded a badge of award for the third time for placement on the ribbon of the cross, a badge of award for the third time for placement on the cross bar in the case, as well as a diploma. In the case of awarding for the second and third time in the diploma below the name of the award is indicated respectively: "(Silver oak branch)" and "(Golden oak branch)". 8. The Cross of Military Merit is made of silver with gilding and has the form of a straight equilateral cross, the ends of which end in pentagons, superimposed on the crossed swords with the points pointed upwards. The rays of the cross are faceted. In the centre of the cross is a diamond covered with translucent blue enamel, which contains the image of the Sign of the Princely State of Vladimir the Great. All images are embossed. The size of the cross is 40 mm. The reverse side of the cross is flat, with an engraved number. With the help of an eyelet and a ring, the cross is connected with a ribbon stretched through the ring and folded in half with the corners bent near the ring. On the reverse side of the tape at the top - a device for fixing the ends of the tape and attaching to clothing. Silk moire cross ribbon with longitudinal stripes: golden colour 3 mm wide, blue - 11 mm, yellow - 11 mm, blue - 3 mm. The award badge for the second time on the ribbon is made of silver and is a relief image of an oak branch. On the reverse side of the branch - a bracket for attaching to the tape. The award badge for the second time for placement on a lath is made of silver and is a quadrangular star with dihedral rays 10 mm in size. On the reverse side of the star - a bracket for mounting to the bar. The award badge for the third time for placement on the ribbon is made of silver with gilding and is a relief image of an oak branch. On the reverse side of the branch - a bracket for attaching to the tape. The badge of award for the third time for placement on a lath is made of silver with gilding and is a quadrangular star with dihedral rays in the size of 10 mm. On the reverse side of the star - a bracket for attaching to the tape (straps). The award badge for the second (third) time is placed in the center of the ribbon (bar). The bar of the Cross of Military Merit is a rectangular metal plate covered appropriate tape. The size of a lath: height - 12 mm, width - 28 mm. Miniature of the Cross of Military Merit - a reduced image of the cross without a ribbon measuring 17 mm. The miniature is made of yellow metal. On the reverse side of the miniature - a needle and collet clamp for attachment to clothing. 9. The Cross of Military Merit is worn on the chest on the left in front of all other awards. If the awarded Order of the Golden Star and / or the Order of the State of the Hero of Ukraine has the Cross of Military Merit, it is placed below them. In case of awarding for the second and third time, the winner places a corresponding sign on the ribbon. Instead of a cross, the winner can wear a strap (on uniform) or a miniature (on civilian clothes). The cross strap is worn on the chest on the left and, if the recipient has a strap, other awards are placed in front of them. In case of awarding for the second and third time, only one bar of the cross with the corresponding sign is worn. The miniature is worn on the chest on the left. Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine A.YERMAK APPROVED By decree of the President of Ukraine of 5 May 2022 №314 / 2022 Polite request: Please limit conversation to Ukrainian Orders, Decorations and Medals. This is not the place to discuss the current war between Ukraine and Russia.

Delving next into the Medal "For the Defence of Mariupol" also appears to be unoffical and indeed is readily availble for purchase from the manufacturer, Garant Partners.

And of course this is spawning whole new avenues of research... and raising more questions. It appears the Commemorative Medal "For Military Valour" was not established officially - no Order of the Ministry of Defence instituting it. It just kind of appeared when some generals started to hand it out. Is this correct? Where does it fit in the order of precedence of Ministry of Defence awards or does it belong after the official ones? Its design appears to be copied from a 'medal' from an organisation called the Military Intelligence Veterans Foundation, that has a slew of awards it hands out to its membership. According to their website, these should be worn after state and departmental awards. Anyway, they have a 'Medal for Military Valour' which has virtually the same obverse - emblems representing the Marine Corps, aviation, missile forces and artillery, tank troops, mechanized troops, Airborne Forces, and the Navy - just the Ministry of Defence badge has replaced the emblem of the Military Intelligence Veterans Foundation at the top. As for the ribbon, this is the same as a private purchase award that is designed to be given to your wife, mother, girlfriend or any other significant female in your life!

Wow, this is fascinating, thank you. I've been busy adding Ukrainian medals to my website since March but it is quite hard to piece the honours system together. I must go read your article... I'm sure it will help.

I normally search in Ukrainian... this site was in Russian, not quite sure how a Ukrainian medal ended up in their section for EMERCON (the ministry that looks after emergency services, disaster recovery & the like!). I already knew a little Russian, my Ukrainian is now improving, provided you want to talk about medals!

Magic... I hadn't turned that up. Thank you!

The next in sequence is the Medal "For Merit in Emergency Response" which was established in 2009. Unfortunately I have only found a sketch, but no actual images of it. Can anyone help?

Medal "For Achievements in Military Service", which has 2 classes. Haven't found decent images of the reverses, but they are plain anyway so we're not missing much!

And the next: Medal "For services to the Armed Forces of Ukraine"

What are your hosting requirements? If you are prepared to look at, for example, India, some very good deals can be had. I have a contact over there who is in the process of setting up hosting for a venture that is, as it happens, medals-related, and could find out more if you wish. Amazone reseller links are possible, but do not give very large returns. I use them on one of my sites but it makes a very small contribution. One thing that can work is to allow advertising and allow those who subscribe to view the site ad-free. I cannot support the idea of only letting those who pay see the images for ethical reasons, alas. I really don't want to have to delete all my posts!

Next is the Medal for Valiant Military Service to the Motherland.

And late last night I found a whole set of awards issued by the Chief of Staff... these also appear to be official with Orders instituting them and a place (afte awards of the Minister of Defence) in the order of precedence). Should keep me occupied for a while! Here's the highest one the Badge "Glory and Honour".