President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and First Lady Olena Zelenska participated in the ceremony honoring distinguished Ukrainians with the State Head Award "National Legend of Ukraine."

"For the second year in a row, we are celebrating talented and heroic citizens of our country with this award. However, over the past year its meaning has changed somewhat — we are now honoring not just legendary figures from Ukraine in music, theater, sports. The Russian Federation has altered the content of our lives, so today we honor all those who daily defend our independence and sovereignty within the state and beyond its borders through their talent and work — diverse but incredibly important," — noted President of Ukraine.

This year, nine Ukrainians were honored with the President's Award "National Legend of Ukraine" for significant personal achievements in establishing an independent Ukraine and strengthening its statehood, defending the homeland and serving the Ukrainian people, as well as their substantial contributions to the development of national education, art, sports, healthcare, and long-term fruitful civic activity. Three of them received the award posthumously.

The award was also given to the best footballer in Europe in 2004, head coach of Ukraine's national football team from 2016-2021, and Hero of Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko.

"A legend of Kyiv 'Dynamo' and the Ukrainian national team, a winner of the Champions League and holder of the Golden Ball... His name is included in the list of the top 100 best footballers in history. These and many other titles have made him famous around the world, but now they help him rally the entire world to support Ukraine. Ambassador of the UNITED24 platform, our great athlete, a great champion, our legend Andriy Shevchenko," — said President Volodymyr Zelensky during the ceremony.