Photo: Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) Command on Facebook
Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda has presented an award to personnel of Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) who took part in the mission to recover the body of Lithuanian military volunteer Tomas Valentelis.
Source: Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) Command on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The SOF Command reported that President Nausėda presented Ukrainian Special Operations Forces personnel with the state honour of the Order For Merits to Lithuania in recognition of their courage and professionalism. Each participant in the operation will also receive an individual award for their personal contribution to the mission.
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“The operation, codenamed Messenger, involved the evacuation of the body of 20-year-old Lithuanian volunteer Tomas Valentelis, a member of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. SOF operators had spent over a week preparing: conducting reconnaissance, training, planning the exfiltration route and organising diversionary actions,” the Command said.
The body of the fallen Lithuanian volunteer was recovered right under the Russians’ noses. SOF soldiers stealthily reached the place where Valentelis was killed, identified the body, prepared it for transport and, despite heavy Russian fire, evacuated it successfully without suffering any casualties.
Background:
Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė earlier announced that Tomas Valentelis would be posthumously awarded one of the country’s highest military decorations.
Valentelis, 20, was killed in March 2025 while performing a combat mission in Ukraine. He had served in the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine since August 2024.
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