Honoring Heroes: Recent Burials at the Memorial Cemetery
At the National Military Memorial Cemetery (NMMC), an additional 108 burials of Ukrainian defenders have occurred since its opening on August 29. This was reported by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
According to the ministry, among the buried — 97 military personnel, whose names remain unknown, as well as 11 defenders, whose families requested burial specifically at the NMMC. Temporary memorial signs bearing their names have been placed at their graves, and their names will later be commemorated on the Memorial Wall of Remembrance.
The ministry clarified that burials are conducted both traditionally and through the interment of urns with ashes. A Hero of Ukraine rests in the cemetery's columbarium. It is also reported that new requests from families of fallen soldiers are constantly arriving at the state institution, seeking to lay their loved ones to rest on the memorial grounds.
«This process is ongoing, and the number of requests is increasing. Families are awaiting ceremonial proceedings in accordance with established procedures,» the ministry stated.
All burials are carried out according to the military burial ritual of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with adherence to military honors. Representatives of the clergy are invited to the ceremonies at the families' request.
One of the individuals buried at the National Military Memorial Cemetery is a volunteer warrior, Maidan activist, journalist, and historian Oleg Rybalchenko. He died in the winter of 2022. After the funeral service, his body was cremated, and on September 20, 2025, the urn with his ashes was buried on the memorial grounds. The family waited over three years for this opportunity, so that the Hero could find eternal rest in a place that honors Ukrainian defenders.
It is worth noting that the memorial cemetery opened on August 29 in the Fastiv district of Kyiv region. The first five unknown defenders of Ukraine were buried here. The entire project anticipates up to 120–130 thousand burial places.
