The remains were taken this week from a cemetery in this small European country and reburied in Ukraine on Monday.
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“Such an event could not have happened without the consent of Luxembourg authorities,” said the Russian Foreign Ministry, stating that it lodged a “strong protest” with the Luxembourg ambassador.
The reburial of A. Melnyk – a controversial nationalist leader – illustrates a trend that has emerged during the war to remember historical figures of the country’s independence movement, despite their ties to Nazi Germany.
A. Melnyk, who died in 1964, was a leader of one branch of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) – a well-known group seeking independence, which fought against Soviet rule, among other things, in cooperation with the Nazis.
The reburial ceremony took place at the National War Memorial in the Kyiv region – a cemetery opened last year dedicated to soldiers who died during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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“It is extremely symbolic that today’s Ukrainian heroes (…) will rest alongside Ukrainians of previous generations who also acted so that Ukraine would be what it is,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The repatriation of A. Melnyk’s remains from Luxembourg is part of a broader state-led project aimed at creating a pantheon of the country’s heroes.
This project aims to unite Ukraine in the fight against the Russian invasion, also using certain historical figures, even at the risk of silencing controversial parts of their legacy.
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