The Institute of National Memory supports the construction of a military memorial cemetery in the Kyiv region

The Institute of National Memory supports the construction of a military memorial cemetery in the Kyiv region

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The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) supports the creation of the National Military Memorial Cemetery (NVMK) near the Southern Cemetery in Kyiv region.

This was announced by the head of the institution, Anton Drobovich, in a comment for “UP. Life”.

The draft law on the creation of the National Memorial Military Cemetery was adopted in 2022. However, there are still disputes about the place where it should be built.

In the spring of 2023, Kyiv City Hall allocated a plot of land in Bykivna for NVMK. This decision was supported by the families of the fallen soldiers.

Photo: unamarina/Depositphotos

However, later it became known that there may be old burial sites of victims of Stalinist repressions in the Bykivnyan forest. This would delay construction for a long time.

According to Drobovych, among the proposed sites for the construction of a military cemetery, Bykivnia seemed the most suitable.

“But later, when the draft law regarding Bykivna was drafted, it was supposed to cancel the city planning conditions and restrictions, and it also turned out that the plot for burials has decreased several times. We honestly said that this is not appropriate.” – says the head of the Institute of National Memory.

As he claims, the Ministry of Culture promised to build the NVMK in compliance with all setbacks and sanitary conditions.

However, on April 27, a draft law appeared that abolished town planning restrictions. Since then, UINP has not supported this site.

“The architect agreed to make a retreat from the Bykivnian graves, which would allow for maximum security, although it would still not completely remove the risks.

And here comes the draft law, which cancels urban planning conditions. Imagine if we start digging graves and find mass burials – the process will stop for years.” Drobovich said.

Photo: Reserve “Bykivnyansky graves”

According to the head of the Institute of National Memory, the site near the village of Gatne, not far from the Southern Cemetery, is the best option for the NVMK. It is large enough, it is in state ownership and there is a convenient transport interchange next to it.

“There will be a whole large cemetery of more than 100 hectares, where everyone who wants to can bury their dead. This, by the way, refutes the claim that they want to “scatter” the graves.

If there are any environmental precautions, please indicate which ones. If the cemetery is properly made, I see no humiliation here. Why is a burial near Yuzhnygo in the Gatnensk community not a proper commemoration?” – says Drobovich.

At the same time, the families of the fallen soldiers do not agree with the construction of a memorial cemetery near the Southern Cemetery.

“We didn’t want a cemetery outside Kyiv. We have many Kyivans, many of them immigrants from Mariupol. There was a demand that it be within Kyiv.” – says Vira Lytvynenko, the mother of the fallen defender of Mariupol.

“It is infuriating that it is on the highway, in the Kyiv region. The families are afraid that there will be problems, because there is the Smaragdova network, the preservation of which is a condition for joining the EU; that there will be claims from the university that owns this plot of land.” – says the head of the patronage service of the “Azov” regiment, Olena Tolkachova.

Anton Drobovych says that large cemeteries like NVMK are not built in cities. At the same time, a memorial or pantheon can be created in Kyiv.

According to him, the military memorial cemetery will be built no earlier than 2025.

It will be recalled that on August 19, the Cabinet of Ministers allowed the construction of a National Military Memorial Cemetery in the village of Gatne in the Kyiv region, which is not far from the Southern Cemetery.

Read also: “He thought only of his boys.” The story of a mortar battery commander who died at the age of 22

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