The Major General Nicholas Krawciw Award honors exceptional leadership, exemplary service, and outstanding contributions to Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression. Recipients demonstrate unwavering resolve, professional excellence, and dedication to the mission while serving in military or security capacities. Distinguished service includes leadership, planning, training, logistics, humanitarian support, force development, or operational accomplishments, whether in combat or non-combat environments.
In keeping with the legacy of Major General Nicholas Krawciw, the award recognizes individuals whose service reflects not only courage, but also strategic vision, mentorship, ethical leadership, and a lasting commitment to developing capable military leaders and strengthening the institutions that defend Ukraine.
2026 Major General Nicholas Krawciw Award Winner
The inaugural Major General Nicholas Krawciw Award was presented to Ukrainian General Valerii Zaluzhnyi at the 79th annual convention of the Ukrainian American Veterans on 26 September 2026.
Valerii Fedorovych Zaluzhnyi (born July 8, 1973) is a four-star general and diplomat who served as
the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from July 2021 to February 2024. Widely known as the “Iron General,” he became a central figure in Ukraine’s military defense following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Born into a military family in Zviahel (formerly Novohrad-Volynskyi) in the Zhytomyr Oblast, Zaluzhnyi aspired from childhood to join the military. Unlike older generations of Ukrainian officers, Zaluzhnyi is notable for having no Soviet military education.
- Graduated with honors from the Odesa Institute of the Land Forces (1997).
- Earned a gold medal from the National Defense Academy of Ukraine (2007).
- Graduated with distinction from the Ivan Cherniakhovskyi National Defense University of Ukraine (2014), where he was awarded the Queen’s Transitional Sword as top graduate.
- Holds a civilian master’s degree in international relations from the Ostroh Academy (2020).
Zaluzhnyi advanced through every tactical level of command in the Ukrainian Ground Forces:
- 1997-2014: Served in leadership roles ranging from platoon commander to brigade commander (51st Separate Mechanized Brigade).
- 2014-2021: Participated in operations in the Donbas region following Russia’s initial aggression in 2014, including fighting around Debaltseve. He held key command positions across regional theater headquarters, including Commander of Operational Command North (2019-2021 ).
- 2021-2024 (Commander-in-Chief: Appointed top military commander in July 2021. He led the initial defense of Kyiv, successful counteroffensives in Kharkiv and Kherson, and implemented NATO-style decentralized operational command (“mission command”) across Ukrainian forces.
Following strategy disagreements and reshuffling by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zaluzhnyi was relieved of his military command in February 2024. Shortly thereafter, he was honored as a Hero of Ukraine and appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom.
Zaluzhnyi is married to Olena Zaluzhna, and the couple has two daughters. He is recognized for his pragmatic leadership style, emphasis on soldier safety, and modern approach to military doctrine.
Award Eligibility
- Officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and security services whose leadership significantly advances Ukraine’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity;
- Members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and security services whose courage, professionalism, initiative, or sustained distinguished service has materially contributed to the defense of the United States or Ukraine;
- Individuals, including US military personnel, international volunteers and partners, whose exceptional service has made a significant contribution to Ukraine’s defense or military development;
- U.S. citizens who died while voluntarily serving in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in defense of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
- Civilians who materially, morally, and otherwise have aided Ukraine in an extraordinary manner.
About Major General Nicholas Krawciw
Nicholas Stephen Hordij Krawciw was a United States Army Major General who served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War and served as commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division from 1987 to 1989.
Krawciw was born on 28 November 1935, in Lviv, Ukraine. His family relocated to Germany during World War II. Following the war, his family emigrated to the United States in 1949 and settled in Philadelphia’s Ukrainian-American community.
After graduating from Bordentown Military Institute, Bordentown, NJ, Nicholas Kraciw entered the the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1955. He played varsity soccer at West Point, became a cadet regimental commander, and graduated in 1959.
Krawciw was one of the first of his West Point class to go to Vietnam and was severely wounded in an ambush. After recuperating from his wounds Captain Krawciw was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas. At Fort Hood, he co-invented advanced armor for ground vehicles and later incorporated it into tank design. He returned to Vietnam as part of 5th Cavalry Regiment and devised countermeasures against the enemy. Major Krawicw earned three Siler Stars during his year in Vietnam.
In 1972 Major Krawciw went to Israel for the United Nations and was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. In Israel. he produced intelligence reports for General Abrams prior to the Yom Kippur War.
Krawciw later served at Headquarters, United States Army, Europe and then as a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. After Stanford, Colonel Krawciw was assigned to the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, where his ideas influenced future victories in Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Storm, and Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
In I979, Colonel Krawciw commanded the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division in Germany. He was
later assigned as Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and subsequently promoted to
Brigadier General.
Brigadier General Krawciw returned to Germany in 1984 as assistant division commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and then executive officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
In 1987, Major General Krawciw assumed command of the 3rd Infantry Division. He was director of NATO policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from1989 to 1990.
Krawciw retired from the United States Army on 1 July 1990.
Post-Military Service
Krawciw ‘s fluency in his native Ukrainian language helped him become involved in assisting the newly-independent Ukraine.
In 1992, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and the Undersecretary of Defense approached Krawciw and asked that he help reorganize, educate. and restructure the Ukrainian military on Western lines, so he and his wife Christina moved to Ukraine. Beginning in 1993, he served as a consultant to the Secretary of Defense on Ukrainian matters and later as Secretary of Defense Senior Military Representative to Ukraine, where Krawciw helped convert the Ukrainian Armed Forces from a communist-style army to one that has democratic standards.
Krawciw was instrumental in establishing educational exchange programs with the Ukrainian military, sponsoring and escorting both military and civilian groups from Ukraine around the United States. He identified sound leaders, assisted in professional development, including ethics, and guided the reduction of Ukrainian armed forces to appropriate levels. The democratic Army that Krawciw helped establish refused to disperse the Orange Revolution demonstrations that ultimately overturned the fraudulent Ukrainian election of 2004.
Some of the programs Krawciw organized or participated in were Operation Peace Shield and Operation Sea Breeze.
Major General Nicholas Krawciw died on 29 September 2021 at age 85 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia and was buried with full military honors at the military cemetery in West Point, NY. On 18 November 2021, the Ukrainian Metropolitan of Philadelphia, Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Father Tara Lonchyna, pastor of Josaphat Church in Trenton, NJ, and Father Matt Pawlikowski, Chaplain, Military Academy West Point, presided at the funeral service at the Trinity Chapel in West Point.
Awards and Decorations
Major General Nicholas Krawciw’s awards and decorations include the following:
- Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters
- Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Bronze Star Medal (four total, two for valor)
- eight Air Medals
- Purple Heart
- Defense Distinguished Service Medal
- Army Distinguished Service Medal
Additional post-military service awards include:
- West Point Distinguished Graduate Award (2006)
- Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame (2013)