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Evgeny Poddubny has become the first journalist in the country’s history to receive the highest honorary title
Veteran war journalist Evgeny Poddubny has been awarded the Gold Star medal personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin and has received the title of ‘Hero of Russia’ – the highest honor in the country.
“Strong, courageous people who honestly and reliably reflect current events” are at the forefront of Russia’s battle to defend its priorities, rights, freedoms, traditions and identity, Putin said during the award ceremony on Thursday.
“This is how Evgeny Poddubny acts and reports,” Putin said, noting that the journalist has been in the “epicenter of ‘hot spots’ more than once” and has received serious wounds while continuing to “honorably fulfill his professional duty” on the front lines.
“He, a true war correspondent, has been awarded the title of Hero of Russia – for the first time in the history of modern Russian journalism,” Putin said. He also thanked all the representatives of the Russian media, including those working from offices, from the front line and in the embattled cities of Donbass, in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions, and other parts of the country.
“Thank you for your work and objectivity in assessing what is happening, for your faith in Russia,” Putin said.
Born in Belgorod in 1983, Poddubny has become one of the most popular Russian war correspondents, reporting from the front lines of multiple conflicts, including from Ukraine, Syria and Georgia. Working for the Russia-1 TV channel, he has authored numerous documentaries and special reports from the battlefield and has also served as the head of the VGTRK bureau in the Middle East and North Africa.
In August, Poddubny was seriously injured in a FPV drone attack on his car in Russia’s Kursk Region amid Ukraine’s incursion into the area. He was taken for treatment to Moscow with severe burns, traumatic brain injury, and facial skeletal injury. He was discharged from hospital in mid-September. In October, Putin signed a decree awarding him the title of ‘Hero of Russia.’
