 Some sources credit him with just one solo victory, some indicate six or seven victories, but others indicate a tally around thirty.For his actions in Spain he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 22 February 1939, although the official publications did not mention is participation in the war Spain and only described him as heroic, since Soviet participation in the Spanish civil war was classified at the time of the awarding.Not long after returning to the Soviet Union from Spain, Gritsevets was sent to Mongolia to command a fighter aviation regiment in Mongolia.