Ukraine, Israel, and difficult memory: why the story of Andriy Melnyk requires no slogans

What happened: Ukraine brings its historical heroes home

The reburial of Andriy Melnyk and Sofiya Fedak-Melnyk is not a separate ceremony around one historical figure. It is part of Ukraine's broader state policy to create its own national military pantheon.

On May 31, 2022, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law on the National Military Memorial Cemetery. The document established the legal framework for creating a place where Ukraine will commemorate those who defended its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Later, the state made additional decisions related to the construction and operation of this memorial complex.

The National Military Memorial Cemetery is located in the Kyiv region, within the Hatne community of the Fastiv district, near the village of Markhalivka. It is not just a cemetery but a large state memorial complex: with burial fields, columbaria, religious structures, museum space, and infrastructure for the honorable burial of Ukrainian defenders and fighters for independence.

The first burials at the National Military Memorial Cemetery took place on August 29, 2025, on the Day of Remembrance of Ukraine's Defenders. At that time, the memorial began…

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