The ashes of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk and his wife Sofia were returned to Ukraine
- Author:
- Anastasiia Zaikova
- Date:
The ashes of OUN leader and UNR colonel Andriy Melnyk and his wife Sofia were returned to Ukraine.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.
The coffins with the ashes of the couple were brought into the territory of Ukraine by Ukrainian border guards at the Uzhhorod checkpoint. During the ceremony, the military bowed the coffins three times in a symbolic bow.
The event was attended by the Deputy Head of the Presidentʼs Office Iryna Vereshchuk, the head of the Transcarpathian Regional Military Administration Myroslav Biletsky, representatives of the clergy, military personnel, veterans, high school students, and scouts.
From Uzhhorod, the ashes of Andriy and Sofia will be transported to Kyiv, where they will be reburied at the National War Memorial Cemetery.
An exhumation ceremony for the Melnyksʼ ashes was held in Luxembourg on May 20. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church announced that funeral services for Melnyk and his wife will be held on May 22-24 at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv.
Later, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that decisions were being prepared regarding the reburial of the UNR Colonel Yevhen Konovalets and other historical figures.
Who is Andriy Melnyk?
Andriy Melnyk was a Ukrainian military and political figure, a colonel in the UNR army, and one of the leaders of the Ukrainian nationalist movement of the 20th century. After the death of Yevhen Konovalets in 1938, he headed the Leadership of Ukrainian Nationalists.
During World War II, Melnyk tried to achieve the creation of Ukrainian military formations, but was later arrested by German authorities and sent to the “Sachsenhausen” concentration camp.
After the war, he lived in Luxembourg, where he continued his activities and advocated for the unification of Ukrainian organizations abroad. He died in 1964 and was buried in Luxembourg.
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