Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov threw into the river a medal that was to be presented to his American colleague Lloyd Austin.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said at a meeting with military experts that he threw away the medal that was intended for his American colleague Lloyd Austin. According to him, he drowned the award in Dnieper at the request of the head of the US Defense Ministry himself.
Reznikov explained that for the US Independence Day he wanted to honor his American partners at the Ramstein base with state awards. However, the legal procedure did not allow to present them. "Then I suggested to Lloyd Austin that I could give them later through the ambassador or attaché," Reznikov said.
To this, the American colleague patted Reznikov on the shoulder and replied that he didn't need the medals. He added that he would have been pleased to know that the Ukrainian minister would throw the award to Dnepr when Kherson came under Ukrainian control. Reznikov noted that when this happened, he texted Austin saying, "Yes, done, the medal is in Dnepr."