Yuliy Valeriyovych Mamchur () is a colonel in the Ukrainian Air Force who, for three weeks in March 2014, refused to abandon his post in Belbek, Crimea amidst the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation while surrounded and outnumbered by Russian forces. Mamchur is also credited for restraining amiably and diplomatically both his soldiers and pro-Russian forces from escalating tensions further, asking both sides not to shoot each other while the situation defuses. Mamchur became a national hero in Ukraine and is considered a hero by Western media outlets. He is known to be calm, stoic and defiant. In the October 2014 Mamchur was elected into the Ukrainian parliament after being in the top 10 of the electoral list of Petro Poroshenko Bloc. He was not re-elected in the 2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election. Biography Mamchur graduated in 1991 from the Chernihiv flight school. From then he served 9 years in Zhytomyr before being transferred to Uman. Early 2013 he was appointed commander of the Sevastopol brigade of tactical aviation of the Air Command of the Southern Operational Command. Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation On 3 March 2014, Mamchur was given an ultimatum to surrender by Russian forces. He instead chose to march to a pro-Russian checkpoint with his men unarmed while only carrying the flag of the 62nd Fighter Aviation Regiment. The event marked the first time that weapons were fired during the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation as Russian troops fired warning shots as Mamchur and his regiment approached. The regiment is well respected amongst Russian troops, including the historic events they went through in 1941. Mamchur and his regiment were stopped at a Russian blockade where he directly confronted the Russian troops by stating that, "It is our duty to safeguard the Constitution of Ukraine in keeping this base." The Russian troops eventually withdrew, while Mamchur, for twenty additional days, maintained his post in Belbek. Under Col. Mamchur the Belbek base came to be known as a bastion of resistance. Crimean separatists then cut the brakes in the family car, death threats he has received and in Sevastopol posters had been put up demanding his execution for treachery. Mamchur wedded a military couple inside the base. Mamchur has complained that he, and his fellow Ukrainian commanders had received no help from the Ukrainian government despite repeated requests. On 23 March, Mamchur's base Belbek