Anton Ptushkin received the Order of Merit (3rd degree) from President Zelensky
Executive summary
Available reporting in the provided sources does not state that Anton Ptushkin received the Order of Merit (3rd degree) from President Volodymyr Zelensky (not found in current reporting). Multiple sources document Zelensky awarding the Order of Merit to journalists and public figures, including decrees honoring 21 media workers and specific awards to individuals such as RFE/RL correspondents and foreign figures [1] [2] [3].
1. What the records say about awards to journalists
Official and news reports show Zelensky has awarded the Order of Merit, III degree, to journalists and media workers on several occasions. A Ukrinform summary of presidential decree No. 847/2025 lists 21 television, radio and communications workers who received state honors for coverage of the invasion and long service; that piece names several recipients who received the Order of Merit III degree posthumously and otherwise, but it does not include Anton Ptushkin [1]. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also reported Zelensky awarded the Order of Merit, Third Class, to two RFE/RL correspondents on Journalists Day, June 6, 2024 [2].
2. Anton Ptushkin’s documented honors and profile
Public biographical summaries of Anton Ptushkin list awards he has received, but the available Wikipedia entry included in search results only records that he was named an Honored Journalist of Ukraine in 2020; it does not say he received the Order of Merit, III degree [4]. Other coverage in the provided results relates to his films and travel work (e.g., Antarctica), not to a presidential Order of Merit award [5] [4].
3. Why confusion can arise between different honors
Ukraine uses multiple state titles and awards — for example, the Honored Journalist title and the Order of Merit are distinct honors with different procedures and publicity. The sources here show Zelensky actively awarding the Order of Merit broadly — to domestic media workers [1], to RFE/RL correspondents [2], and to foreign figures such as Baroness Helena Kennedy [3] — which can create a plausible, but unproven, narrative that any prominent Ukrainian media figure might also have been a recipient. That plausibility does not substitute for evidence; in the material provided, Ptushkin’s Honored Journalist award is documented, while an Order of Merit award to him is not [4].
4. What the available sources do not claim
Available sources do not mention Anton Ptushkin being awarded the Order of Merit (3rd degree) by President Zelensky. The listed decree that conferred awards on 21 media workers does not name Ptushkin [1]. The RFE/RL reporting of awards to its correspondents likewise does not reference him [2]. The Wikipedia entry for Ptushkin notes other honors and career milestones but does not report an Order of Merit, III degree [4]. Therefore, a claim that Zelensky awarded Ptushkin that specific decoration is not supported by the supplied reporting (not found in current reporting).
5. Alternative explanations and caution about sourcing
There are two reasonable alternatives to explain why someone might assert Ptushkin received the Order of Merit: (a) genuine award but not covered in the sources you provided, or (b) conflation of his Honored Journalist title with later state orders that Zelensky has given to other journalists [4] [1]. Because the instruction set for this analysis requires using only the supplied sources, we cannot confirm awards not documented here; further verification would require checking official presidential decrees, the Office of the President website, or contemporaneous news releases beyond the dataset provided (available sources do not mention a presidential decree naming Ptushkin).
6. How to verify the claim responsibly
The most authoritative records are presidential decrees and the Office of the President’s published list of honorees. The Ukrinform article cites decree No. 847/2025 for media awards [1]; similar decree numbers and official postings typically accompany each round of honors. To settle the question beyond doubt, consult the Presidential Administration’s official website, the published decree lists for the relevant date, or reputable Ukrainian media reportage that lists individual recipients. The supplied dataset does not contain such confirmation for Ptushkin (not found in current reporting).
7. Bottom line for readers
Based on the documents and news items available here, Anton Ptushkin’s receipt of the Order of Merit (3rd degree) from President Zelensky is not documented in the supplied reporting; Zelensky has, however, definitively awarded the Order of Merit III to journalists and other public figures in multiple instances cited above [1] [2] [3]. If you need a definitive answer, examine the presidential decree registry or contemporary official announcements beyond these sources.