The Russian Ambassador to Ankara Andrei Karlov was posthumously bestowed the title of the Hero of the Russian Federation, the Kremlin website reports.

Pursuant to the decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, the aforementioned title has been bestowed upon the diplomat “for the manifestation of firmness and courage on the post of the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Turkish Republic,” as well as “ for his great contribution to the foreign policy course of the Russian Federation.”

On Monday evening, a gunman attacked Russian Ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, while he was giving a speech at a photo exhibition in the Turkish capital city of Ankara.

Karlov was rushed to hospital in critical condition, but he could not be saved.

The assailant, who was shot dead by police, was later identified as Ankara police officer Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş.