First head of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) Yevhen Konovalets will be temporarily reburied on the territory of the National Military Memorial Cemetery, and later – in the Ukrainian national pantheon, reported Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Budanov.
"After 88 years abroad, Colonel Yevhen Konovalets is returning home. For decades, attempts were made to erase, distort, or consign his name to oblivion. The enemies of a free Ukraine feared the colonel in life – and fear him to this day. Perhaps that is why returning his ashes to his native land was long considered ‘untimely’," Budanov noted.
According to him, more than a century ago, Colonel Konovalets and his generation took on the responsibility to achieve an independent Ukrainian state.
"Times and circumstances have changed, but the essence of the struggle has remained unchanged: protecting our freedom, sovereignty, and the right to be masters on our own land. Today, a new generation of Ukrainian defenders continues this cause, holding the line in the battle against the very same enemy," Budanov emphasized.
According to him, Konovalets will be temporarily reburied on the territory of the National Military Memorial Cemetery, and later – in the Ukrainian National Pantheon.
"He dreamed of seeing the blue-and-yellow flag over a free Kyiv and devoted his entire life to this. The best tribute to his memory will be a strong, sovereign Ukraine, which we are fighting for in the current struggle," Budanov emphasized.
