Zelenskyy, top officials attend reinterment of nationalist leader Andriy Melnyk at military cemetery

The ceremony was attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, Presidential Office chief Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Iryna Vereshchuk, parliamentary speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova, Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha and former President Viktor Yushchenko.

Also present was Andriy Romaniuk, a descendant of OUN founding leader Yevhen Konovalets — a relative of Melnyk whose great-grandmother was Melnyk's sister. Romaniuk said he discovered his ancestry through archival records.

"Every generation has its own important mission. If our ancestors fought for the idea of an independent Ukraine when it seemed out of reach, our responsibility now is simply not to lose that legacy. I am very glad that the leader is now in his native land," Romaniuk said.

In his remarks, Zelenskyy noted that as Melnyks’ remains were brought back "through Zakarpattya and half the country, there was none of the discord, which so often knocked Ukraine off its feet."

"Col. 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 Ukraine that is strong, free and proud; a Ukraine that knows what it wants; a Ukraine that holds together without internal discord, and that is precisely why — through its unity — it holds its ground. He has returned to a Ukraine that will not falter; a Ukraine that has become far-reaching and far-sighted, and that will definitely live in peace," Zelenskyy said.

He also noted that work on a Pantheon of Distinguished Ukrainians had begun before the full-scale invasion, together with Foreign Minister Sybiha, and is now continuing with the Presidential Office and government. "We are filling the word 'respect' with great meaning — respect for Ukrainian heroes," Zelenskyy added.

Presidential Office deputy chief Iryna Vereshchuk said the reinterment was carried out in accordance with Melnyk's own wishes. She added that preparations are underway for the reinterment of another Ukrainian historical figure — OUN founding leader Yevhen Konovalets, buried in Rotterdam. Permission for exhumation has already been received from Rotterdam authorities. Ukrainian authorities are also working on legislation to formally establish the Pantheon of Heroes.

More about Andriy Melnyk

Melnyk was a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and a close brother-in-arms and relative of Yevhen Konovalets. After Konovalets was assassinated in 1938, Melnyk led the OUN's more moderate faction — known as OUN-M — as distinct from the faction led by Stepan Bandera, which became OUN-B.

Melnyk died in 1964 and was buried alongside his wife in Luxembourg. His remains were brought to Ukraine on May 21, and a funeral service was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church on May 23.

Melnyk will be the first figure interred in the Pantheon of Distinguished Ukrainians, to be established at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv.

Current OUN head Bohdan Chervak called the return of Melnyk's remains "a historic event," saying Ukraine "is not only bringing its heroes home, but showing the entire world that historical memory, dignity and national honor are its foremost values."