A 10-year-old boy who was wounded in a deadly attack in Russia’s Bryansk region on Thursday has been awarded the Medal of Valor and Courage, according to an announcement on Telegram by Russia’s Investigative Committee on Friday.
According to Russian officials, two Ukrainian sabotage groups illegally crossed from Ukraine into the Bryansk region on Thursday, killing two civilians and wounding several Russian servicemen as well as the 10-year-old Fyodor.
Ukrainian officials have dismissed the accusation that the group was Ukrainian, calling the entire incident a Russian “provocation.”
Fyodor, who was traveling with two other children in a car that was fired upon by the alleged saboteurs, suffered a gunshot wound to the chest and is now in the hospital.
The Investigative Committee, the body charged with investigating serious criminal cases in Russia, said that Fyodor had shown “heroism and selflessness” in his actions during the attack.
"Fyodor could have run away quickly, but he did not leave the younger girls behind and helped them out of the car through the back door and then told them to run into the woods,” the statement said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said earlier on Friday that steps would be taken to better secure Russia's border regions against any future incursions from Ukraine.
