A young Russian soldier was given a top medal for holding a frontline position by himself for 68 days.

Question

❗Russian Defense Minister Belousov awards 'Gold Star' of Hero of Russia to 21yo Sergey Yarashev, who SINGLE-HANDEDLY held positions near Grishino in the Donetsk People's Republic FOR 68 DAYS
@mta.info

Answer 1

After researching and reading through articles, I found that Sergey Yarashev, did indeed receive the prestigious "Star of Hero of Russia Medal" after holding positions in the DPR for 68 days. He was removed from the site with extreme injuries, resulting in the amputation of his feet. The award was ordered to be given to Sergey Yarashev by Russian President Vladimir Putin. After reading through the sources, the claim made about Yarashev is truthful given the written details and evidence provided. The resources I found also state other relevant details to the story, such as how Yarashev managed to hold out until he was eventually rescued, despite his bad injuries.

I found and used the source below to support my findings. From this article, I learned that Sergey Yarashev, 21-year-old soldier was awarded the medal "Hero of Russia" by Russian President Vladimir Putin for holding DPR positions for 68 whole days, and proceeded to be evacuated with severe injuries. Additionally, I learned that Putin ordered the award to Yarashev on March 10, 2026.

https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/coronado/news/2026/03/10/putin-awards-hero-of-russia-medal-to-21-year-old-soldier/

This link below is a Russian publication that gives more detail and describes that Defense Minister Andrei Belousov was the one who presented the Gold Star medal to Private Sergei Yarashev, Russian soldier.

https://en.iz.ru/en/2065224/2026-03-24/what-known-about-sergei-yarashev-who-received-gold-star-medal-hero-russia

My first source, National Today, is a reliable source for news information and updates. They produce many different types of articles that provide relevant information. The source has many articles on recent events and even holidays.

https://nationaltoday.com/us/ca/coronado/news/2026/03/10/putin-awards-hero-of-russia-medal-to-21-year-old-soldier/

The claim that is to be fact-checked is "Russian Defense Minister Belousov awards 'Gold Star' of Hero of Russia to 21yo Sergey Yarashev who single-handedly held positions in the DPR for 68 days." This statement is true according to the information provided in the article. This source mentions that Denis Pushilin, head of DPR, was the one who appealed to President Vladimir Putin to award Yarashev for what he had done. It provides information that Vladimir Putin made the decision and ordered the award of the Hero of Russia medal to Yarashev. The article talks about how the award of the Hero of Russia medal, is one of the highest military honors, and that Yarashev's outstanding efforts have been rightfully, officially recognized and praised by Russia's leadership.

https://en.iz.ru/en/2065224/2026-03-24/what-known-about-sergei-yarashev-who-received-gold-star-medal-hero-russia

This is the resource that proves the claim that Defense Minister Belousov was the one who had presented the award to 21 year old Russian soldier, Yarashev.

Comments

While this is a solid fact check that correctly distinguishes between the executive order signed by Putin and the medal presentation by Belousov, your choice of sources is a bit questionable. Using National Today a site mostly known for "National Pancake Day" and holiday trivia, for high-stakes geopolitical news feels like citing a party planning blog for a military report; they likely just scraped a wire report from a state outlet. To add some substantial depth, it’s worth noting that Yarashev’s survival for 68 days was largely credited to drone resupplies, a detail that makes the "single-handed" claim much more plausible in a modern context.

Answer 2

I looked up the name of the soldier, Sergey Yarashev, and I was met with a handful of sources, in both English and Russian, reporting on this. I also searched "hero of Russia", the name of the award allegedly received, and some of the first results were stories about Yarashev. Kremlin.ru and Izvestia (Известия), a government-owned website and a newspaper, are the two most popular sources reporting on this story. Credibility websites suggest that Russian media is under heavy influence from the Russian government and current administration and largely creates bias in Russian media. Additionally, Izvestia was recently acquired by a close friend of Vladimir Putin. (Kremlin.ru - MediaBiasFactCheck.com Izvestia - mediabiasfactcheck.com)

All of the sources cite an announcement made by Dmitry Peskov on March 10, 2026, for information about the Yarashev's award. Some sites list him as a Kremlin spokesman and others the presidential press secretary, which I assume is used interchangeably as Kremin is owned by the Russian government, but made me look twice. I can't find a transcript of the original announcement.

All things considered, I believe this claim to be true. The sources all report the same timeline and details, pointing to an official announcement from the Russian government. This may be due in part to the government's control over the media, but I don't think that is necessarily relevant because it is a military matter.

Disclaimer: I'm writing this only four days after it was asked, but, unfortunately, the original Bluesky post has already been deleted. I tried to investigate on the Russian Ministry of Defense's website, but it is blocked here in the U.S. I was also prevented from accessing certain parts of Izvestia and Kremlin.