Motivating moment: Umerv awarded a soldier who shot down a Russian cruise missile with a MANPADS.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, awarded honors from the Ministry of Defense to Ukrainian serviceman Natalia Hrabarchuk and two other female military personnel on November 19. Hrabarchuk shot down a Kh-101 cruise missile with a MANPADS "Igla" during a massive missile attack by the Russian Federation on November 17. Two other military members assisted her in the interception.

Umerov shared this news on his Facebook. According to him, Natalia Hrabarchuk has become a symbol of professionalism and courage.

"A precise shot, exact coordination, and joyful emotions of victory. Today, I had the honor of personally meeting three incredible defenders who have become symbols of professionalism and bravery," he wrote.

The awards were given to:

• Private Natalia Hrabarchuk, the author of the successful shot from the Soviet MANPADS that destroyed the Russian cruise missile;
• Senior Private Olga Maksymenko, who filmed the same video that later spread widely on the internet;
• Senior Private Valentyna Steblevets, who operated a tablet and transmitted target data; thanks to her accurate targeting, the missile was intercepted.

"We are proud of you, your service, and your resilience! On behalf of the Ministry of Defense and all of Ukraine, I thanked Olga, Valentyna, and Natalia for their dedication and bravery and presented them with the well-deserved honors from the Ministry of Defense. Your work protects our sky and brings us closer to victory," Umerov added.

Missile Attack on November 17

On November 17, the Russians attacked several regions of our country. Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Lviv, Poltava, and even in Prykarpattia. There were casualties and injuries in several regions.

In the capital, four districts were affected, and some missiles were successfully intercepted, including "Kinzhal" and "Tsirkon". Emergency services are working to restore damaged infrastructure and ensure electricity and heating supply. According to the spokesperson of the Kyiv City Military Administration, the attack was the most powerful in the last three months (since August 26).

The massive missile attack lasted for 2 hours, while the drone attack continued for over 10 hours. The Russian Federation used 120 missiles and 90 drones, with air defense successfully intercepting over 140 targets, as reported by the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This included 102 missiles and 42 drones. Among them were one Tsirkon missile, seven Kinzhal ballistic missiles, 85 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles, four Kh-22 or Kh-31P missiles; five guided aviation missiles Kh-59/69.