The Museum’s collection was replenished with new unique artefacts of the russian-Ukrainian war. Major Oleh Shyriayev, Hero of Ukraine and Commander of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, personally handed over the trophies, captured by the regiment in fierce battles against the russian invaders, to the Museum. The event was attended by the regiment’s soldiers, including Ivan ‘Kotelva’ Kozin, Senior Lieutenant (the first one to receive the ‘Silver Oak Branch’ to the Cross of Military Merit), and soldier Denys Skrypko (holder of the Order for Courage).
Opening the event, Yurii Savchuk, the Museum’s Director General, emphasised: ‘The artefacts that Major Oleh Shyriayev is handing over today are proof not only of the courage and bravery of our Defenders, but also of their awareness of the great mission to preserve the memory of this war. This large collection, assembled by the 225th Regiment, will become a part of the Museum’s future exhibition projects’.
Major Oleh Shyriayev, Hero of Ukraine, told the story of the items. He stressed that it was his passion for collecting that gave him the impetus to preserve the trophies, and now these items reflect the history of the 225th Regiment from the beginning of the large-scale russian invasion: ‘There are chevrons of the enemy units that fought against the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: the Wagnerites, the so-called LPR and DPR, the Pskov Division, the Kadyrovites, the 155th Brigade of the Pacific Fleet of the russian armed forces, the russian neo-Nazi ‘rusich’ and many others’.
Senior Lieutenant Ivan Kozin and soldier Denys Skrypko noted that the transfer of the trophies to the Museum is an opportunity to tell the world about the modern history of Ukraine and the combat path of the 225th Regiment in particular.
About 200 items – awards, armbands of the russian and chinese military, uniform elements, weapons, fragments of enemy UAVs – captured by the soldiers of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were presented during the event.
Particular attention was drawn to a unique map of the Kursk region captured at an enemy command post. Thanks to the map, the regiment’s soldiers were able to perform combat missions more efficiently on enemy’s territory, as they were among the first ones to cross the border into russia during the Kursk defence operation.
Yurii Savchuk gave the guests a tour of the exhibition... ‘beyond the native land’. This exposition appeared as a result of the Museum’s unique field expedition to the border between the Ukrainian Sumy region and the russian kurshchina, which began on the tenth day of the kursk operation in August 2024.
The War Museum is sincerely grateful to the service members of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for protecting Ukraine and their invaluable contribution to preserving the historical memory of the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people against russian aggression.
Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes!
