Yanka Kupala
During the Great Purge he successfully defended Belarusian-language poets Yanka Kupala and Yakub Kolas from repressions, personally travelling to Stalin to appeal for their protection. The two poets were later awarded the Order of Lenin. Following the Invasion of Poland in 1939, Ponomarenko served as the member of the Military Council of the Belarusian Special Military District and took part in the leadership of the troops that entered the territory of Western Belarus.