Key facts
- Yevhen Konovalets, founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, was reburied in Kyiv.
- Konovalets was assassinated in 1938 by a Soviet agent in Rotterdam.
- His remains were exhumed in Rotterdam and returned to Ukraine.
- President Zelensky stated the repatriation honors Ukraine's memory and history.
- Ukraine is establishing a National Pantheon to honor its heroes.
Twentieth-century military leader Yevhen Konovalets, the founder of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), was reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv on Aug. 18. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the reburial, stating that Ukraine had brought back a part of itself: its memory, its Ukrainian experience, and its national history.
Konovalets established the OUN in 1929 amid the turmoil following Ukraine's defeat in the 1917–1921 War of Independence. From exile, he worked to unite Ukrainians into an organized independence movement and sought foreign support for Ukraine's cause, warning of Moscow's expansionism. He was assassinated in 1938 in Rotterdam by an undercover Soviet agent who gifted him a bomb-rigged box of chocolates.
The exhumation ceremony for Konovalets took place on Aug. 11 at Crooswijk Cemetery in Rotterdam, attended by government officials, members of the Ukrainian diaspora, and clergy. His remains were returned to Ukraine on Aug. 13 and he was posthumously awarded state and military honors. The repatriation of Konovalets follows that of Andriy Melnyk, another prominent 20th-century military leader. Zelensky pledged that Ukraine would continue to bring home its heroes buried abroad.
Ukraine is seeking to establish a National Pantheon to honor its heroes, past and present. However, government officials involved in the project indicated that an official list of figures to be included has not yet been determined.