For his actions in defusing explosives, Kharchenko was named a Hero of the Soviet Union and awarded the Gold Star and Order of Lenin on 2 November 1944.

In the citation for the Hero of the Soviet Union award, it was stated that Kharchenko personally defused more than 1500 bombs weighing more than 500 kilograms each and 25,000 other explosive objects.

Ivan Kharchenko was born on 23 September 1918 in Komarovka village of Nizhyn Uyezd in the Chernigov Governorate, to a peasant family.

In 1942 he came back to the unit where he had served in non-commissioned positions — to the 6th Engineering and anti-gas regiment of the NKVD antiaircraft defense troops.

On 2 November 1944, he was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union and the Order of Lenin for his actions in defusing unexploded ordnance and mines.