Zelensky signs law on the National Pantheon

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the law on the National Pantheon in Kyiv on August 22, 2026. The new document regulates the creation of a nationwide memorial complex in Kyiv for honoring prominent figures. This was reported by the head of the Institute of National Memory, Oleksandr Alferov, on Facebook.

The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory developed the concept for the future site, and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will form a special council to determine the names of worthy citizens. This body will include government officials, historians, and experts who will be empowered to decide on matters of burial or the placement of commemorative markers.

The Pantheon will have an exclusively non-denominational status, while allowing religious rites to be conducted on the territory of the complex, and will be used for events of the State Protocol and Ceremonial of Ukraine.

Only rulers of ancient Rus, hetmans and leaders of Ukrainian republics of the twentieth century, as well as military commanders, will be buried in the Pantheon. For representatives of science, culture, and religion, officials have established the criterion of a special historical contribution. At the same time, access to the memorial is closed to figures with convictions for crimes against national security or those falling under the decommunization laws.

By design, the National Pantheon is intended to become one of the symbols of modern Ukraine. It is the creation of a site of national memory that unites historical heritage, the struggle for independence, the values of the Ukrainian political nation, and a vision for the future. Officials plan to turn this complex into one of the main symbols of modern state ideology.

The legal entity that will manage the Pantheon will be established or designated by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The law will enter into force the day after its publication. "I am happy!" commented the head of the Institute of National Memory, Oleksandr Alferov.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, the OCU welcomes the construction of the Pantheon at the Lavra.

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