Ukrainian government approves reburial of OUN founder Konovalets

Yevhen Konovalets. Photo: Ukrinform

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the reburial in Ukraine of Yevhen Konovalets, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), Ukrinform reports.

The relevant order, No. 703 of July 15, has been published on the Government Portal. The document approves an action plan for organizing the reburial. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been instructed to coordinate with the competent authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to obtain permission to exhume Konovalets’ remains and transport them to Ukraine.

Following their repatriation, ceremonial events are to be held as the remains cross the state border and upon their arrival in Kyiv. Konovalets will then be buried with military honors at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

OUN head Bohdan Chervak said on social media that the ceremony could take place in the near future. He recalled that during Konovalets’ funeral in Rotterdam in 1938, Ukrainian nationalists pledged that once Ukraine restored its independence, the colonel’s remains would be transferred to Kyiv.

As the UOJ reported, the remains of Andriy Melnyk, head of the OUN-M, were previously brought to the UGCC cathedral in Kyiv ahead of reburial. The move drew a sharp reaction from Israel, which described him as a Nazi collaborator.

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