Ukrainian parliament passes law creating national pantheon to honor nation's heroes
Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill introduced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to establish a Ukrainian National Pantheon honoring the country's most outstanding figures, drawing fresh criticism from Poland amid ongoing historical tensions.
The Verkhovna Rada supported the legislation in its entirety with 287 lawmakers voting in favor, according to a live broadcast of the parliamentary session.
The bill, submitted by Zelenskyy, aims to commemorate "the most outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian nation."
"I names of all the heroes who fought for Ukraine in different centuries and eras, who inspired Ukraine, will be united and forever inscribed in our history," Zelenskyy said. "When no one and never will order us how to live, how to speak, whom to love, whom to be grateful to and which heroes to honor."
The head of the Presidential Office, Kyrylo Budanov, also stressed that "no one will ever dictate to Ukrainians which heroes to honor, which holidays to celebrate or which history to study."
The statements sparked renewed outrage in Poland as relations between Kyiv and Warsaw have worsened over historical disputes. Polish President Karol Nawrocki described it as "another stage of escalation actions on the part of Kyiv."
The specific list of figures to be honored in the pantheon has not yet been made public, but Poland has already suggested its own candidates, including Józef Piłsudski.
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