The remains of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk are being returned to Ukraine: where and when the ceremony will take place

In Kyiv, the schedule for the memorial services and reburial of OUN leader Andriy Melnyk and his wife has been released

У Люксембурзі ексгумували прах другого голови ОУН Андрія Мельника і його дружини Софії. Фото: Богдан Червак

19 May, 18:23

From May 22 to 24, 2026, memorial services will be held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Kyiv in connection with the arrival in Ukraine of the mortal remains of the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Colonel of the UNR Army Andriy Melnyk and his wife Sofia Fedak-Melnyk. After the farewell in the capital, their solemn reburial will take place on the territory of the National Military Memorial Cemetery. This was reported by the UGCC press center.

Schedule of services at the Patriarchal Cathedral

To honor the memory of the Melnyk couple, an official schedule of prayer events lasting three days has been approved at the main cathedral of the UGCC in Kyiv.

On Friday, May 22, the following memorial services are scheduled:

At 7:30 and 9:00 AM, Divine Liturgies for the departed with a panakhyda (memorial service) will be held.
The initial Rite of Parastas is scheduled for 3:00 PM.
Vespers will begin at 6:00 PM, followed by the prayerful reading of the Psalter at 7:00 PM.

On Saturday, May 23, central farewell events will take place:

At 7:30 and 9:00 AM, morning Divine Liturgies for the departed with a panakhyda will be held again.
The main memorial service — the Rite of Burial — will begin at 3:00 PM. Hierarchs, priests, and laity from various parts of Ukraine will participate, and the presence of statesmen and government representatives is also expected. A live broadcast of this event will be provided by "Zhyve Telebachennya".

On Sunday, May 24, the final stage of the ceremony will take place:

At 7:00 AM, the direct transportation of the coffins to the National Military Memorial Cemetery is scheduled, where their burial in the Pantheon of Outstanding Ukrainians will take place.

The procedure for returning the remains to the Motherland

Andriy Melnyk died in Luxembourg in 1964 and until now was buried with his wife at the Bonnevoie city cemetery. The return of their remains to Ukraine became possible after the adoption of a government decision. On May 15, 2026, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued order No. 460, which approved the plan of measures for the organization of reburial and instructed central executive authorities to ensure its implementation.

According to the document, the relevant Ukrainian departments were to obtain official permission for exhumation from the authorized bodies of Luxembourg for the subsequent transportation of the remains to the territory of Ukraine. This step is part of a broader initiative, as the President's Office previously reported work on the project of the Pantheon of Outstanding Ukrainians at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv. The concept involves the return to Ukraine and reburial of prominent political, military, and cultural figures whose graves are currently located abroad.

Historical background

Andriy Melnyk was a prominent Ukrainian military and political figure, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and the head of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists from 1938 to 1964. He belonged to the inner circle of Yevhen Konovalets' associates, directly participated in organizing the Sich Riflemen formation in Kyiv, and was one of the founders of the Ukrainian Military Organization.

Sofia Fedak-Melnyk became Andriy Melnyk's wife in 1929, after he was released from Polish imprisonment. Throughout the four years that Andriy Melnyk was in prison, Sofia Fedak regularly visited her future husband at the place of detention.