OUN leader Andriy Melnyk has been reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery
This was reported by a hromadske correspondent.
The procession was attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Iryna Vereshchuk, Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk, Minister for Veterans Affairs Nataliia Kalmykova and Minister for Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha. Also present was Ukraine’s third president, Viktor Yushchenko.
Also present at the event was Andriy Romanyuk, a descendant of the first leader of the OUN and a relative of Yevhen Konovalets, a close associate of Melnyk. His great-grandmother was Melnyk’s sister. He explained that he had discovered his origins through archival records.
“Every generation has its own important mission. […] If our ancestors fought for the idea of an independent Ukraine at a time when it was not yet in sight, then our responsibility now is simply not to lose this entire legacy. I am very glad that the leader is now in his native soil,” said Romanyuk.
In his speech, the President said that during the return of Melnik’s remains “through Zakarpattia and half the country — there was no discord on this journey, the kind that so often knocked Ukraine off its feet”.
“Colonel Andriy Melnyk has returned to a different Ukraine — not the one he was forced to leave, but the one he dreamed of. […] He has returned to a strong, free, proud Ukraine, a Ukraine that knows what it wants, a Ukraine that stands united without internal discord, and it is precisely because of this unity that it maintains its strong position. He returned to a Ukraine that will not falter, a Ukraine of leaders, which has become far-reaching, far-sighted, and which will surely live in peace,” said Zelenskyy.
He also explained that work on the Pantheon of Outstanding Ukrainians had begun even before the full-scale invasion, in collaboration with the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriy Sybiga. This work is now continuing with the Office of the President, its head Kyrylo Budanov, and the government. As he put it, “we are imbuing the word ‘respect’—which is often spoken and must be spoken in its fullest sense—with great meaning: respect for Ukrainian heroes.”
Deputy Head of the President’s Office Iryna Vereshchuk stated that the organisation of the reburial adhered to Melnik’s own will. Preparations are now underway for the reburial of another Ukrainian figure — the first leader of the OUN, Yevhen Konovalets. Permission for exhumation has already been granted by the authorities in Rotterdam, where he is buried. The authorities are also working on a bill to establish a Pantheon of Heroes.
Andriy Melnyk: what he is known for
Andriy Melnyk was a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, a close comrade and relative of Yevhen Konovalets. Following his death in 1938, he led the Leadership of Ukrainian Nationalists and headed the more moderate wing of the OUN — the OUN (m) — in contrast to the comrades of Stepan Bandera, who led the OUN (b).
He died in 1964 and was buried alongside his wife in Luxembourg. On 21 May, his remains were brought to Ukraine, and on 23 May, a funeral service was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.
Melnyk will be the first figure to be buried in the Pantheon of Outstanding Ukrainians, which is to be established at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv.
The current head of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, Bohdan Chervak, described the return of Melnik’s remains as a “historic event”: “Ukraine is not only bringing back its heroes, but is showing the whole world that historical memory, dignity and the honour of the nation are its top priorities.”
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