Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the title 'Hero of Russia' to a Russian soldier who defeated a Ukrainian soldier in a brutal knife fight that went viral online. The eight-minute footage caught on the helmet camera showed Andrey Grigoryev engaged in combat with a Ukrainian soldier, who succumbed to the attack.
Grigoryev was decorated for "bravery and heroism" in combat, RT News quoted a presidential decree published on Saturday.
The 35-year-old soldier, a corporal with the 39th Motorised Rifle Brigade, hails from Sakha Republic in Russia. The incident happened in 2024 during a battle near the village of Trudovoye in Donetsk People’s Republic but went viral only recently.
The video shows a Ukrainian soldier approaching a dilapidated building before engaging in a close-range firefight with Grigoryev. However, their battle soon ends in hand-to-hand combat, following which the Ukrainian soldier ends up getting stabbed to death. The Ukrainian was also heard pleading for the death, "Let me die in peace. I want to go on my own. Thank you. You were the greatest fighter in the world."
Grigoryev was seen leaving the scene, wounded and covered in blood without delivering the final blow. Later, in an interview with RT News, Grigoryev said he did so because "he being a Russian and Yakut was taught from childhood to remain human in any situation."
"He had two knife neck wounds and was stabbed three times near the heart. I knew he wouldn’t be able to get up," he added. Grigoryev said the Ukrainian had killed one of his friends during the clash, leaving him no option but to fight.
Grigoryev added that he was determined not to surrender. "I would take at least one person to the grave [before dying myself]. This motivation helped me a lot to concentrate,” Grigoryev added.
The video went viral in Russia following which Sakha Governor Aysen Nikolayev met with Grigoryev and gifted him a new knife as a gift. The video also caught the attention of Elon Musk who posted on X: "I have a WW1 trench knife embedded in my bedroom wall just in case. 1917 edition. More useful than a gun in close quarters."