Ukraine

Ukraine Re-Buries Nazi Collaborator Near Kyiv

Was this a justified move to honor Ukraine's history or was it a shameful abomination?

Published MAY 26

Story

Above: A re-burial service for Andriy and Sofia Melnyk at the National Military Memorial Cemetery near Kyiv on May 25, 2026. Image credit: Ukrainian Presidency Press Office

The Spin

Pro-government narrative

Melnyk was an important Ukrainian who played a leading role in the country's nationalist movements. His repatriation is part of a wider effort to bring home the bodies of a number of Ukrainian patriots so that they can be properly remembered.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy on X Ukrainska Pravda

Government-critical narrative

It is deeply shameful that Melnyk, a Nazi collaborator, was re-buried with full state honors in Ukraine. Under his leadership, OUN members not only guarded ghettos and concentration camps but have been documented to have carried out the worst atrocities alongside perpetrators from Nazi Germany.

Marta Havryshko on X