Zelensky signs law on farewell ritual for fallen military personnel

Cemetery. Photo: preview of the YouTube channel Alex Motorny | Kharkiv

The President of Ukraine has signed a law on amendments to the Charters of garrison and guard services of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The document defines the procedure for solemn farewell to soldiers at the site of memorial markers in the absence of actual burial. Previously, the legislation lacked a clear algorithm for paying honors to persons whom judicial authorities officially declared dead.

The new procedure provides for the participation of a special honor guard consisting of a unit commander, trumpeter, drummer or military orchestra. The ceremony is also accompanied by a farewell team of six people, a salute group of three servicemen and standard bearers. The law establishes a clear sequence of actions for all participants in the ritual and the scheme of their placement at the cenotaph.

The decision to conduct the farewell is made by relatives of the deceased or persons who install the memorial marker. In the absence of close relatives, such initiative is taken by the garrison commander, TRC head or local administration chief.

The law assigns responsibility for organizing honors to TRC heads or garrison commanders at the location of the cenotaph. The state assumes the costs of conducting the ritual for deceased police officers whom the court has recognized as dead.

As the UOJ reported, Zelensky signed a law on the creation of military memorial cemeteries.

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