The OUN leader Andriy Melnyk reburied at the military memorial cemetery near Kyiv

The leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), Colonel of the UNR Army Andriy Melnyk, and his wife Sofia Fedak-Melnyk were reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery near Kyiv.

This was reported by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The procession was attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, the head of the Presidential Office Kyrylo Budanov, his deputy Iryna Vereshchuk, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, the head of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs Natalia Kalmykova, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiha, as well as the third President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, writes hromadske.

Andriy Romanyuk — a descendant of the first leader of the OUN and a relative of Melnyk Yevhen Konovalets — was at the event. His great-grandmother was Melnykʼs sister. He said that he learned about his origins through archival files.

The remains of the Melnyks were exhumed in Luxembourg on May 19. On May 21, they were transferred to Ukraine across the Slovak border. The day before, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that decisions were being prepared regarding the reburial of UNR Colonel Yevhen Konovalets.

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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