The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has adopted a resolution under which the Ukrainian National Pantheon will be located on the grounds of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
This is stated in the document signed by Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko.
According to the resolution, the Pantheon will have the status of a memorial complex of national significance. It will be established as part of the National Preserve Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which is administered by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINM) is to develop the concept for the Pantheon’s operation and structure, provide scholarly and methodological support, and determine the forms of memorialisation. In addition, the institute will hold expert and public discussions on the complex’s activities.
The Ministry of Culture will determine the exact location of the Pantheon on the grounds of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. In doing so, it will take into account restrictions on land use, cultural heritage protection requirements, and Ukraine’s international obligations. The Ministry will also organise an architectural competition for the best Pantheon design, involving experts, religious communities, and international organisations.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the UINM, will verify the identities of independence fighters and prominent figures buried outside Ukraine who helped shape the national identity. Based on the results of this review, the MFA will work with foreign states to obtain permits for exhumation and reburial of the remains of Ukrainian heroes on the Pantheon’s grounds.
Funding for the creation, outfitting, and operation of the memorial complex will be provided within state budget expenditures, as well as from other sources not prohibited by law.
- On 1 July, the Verkhovna Rada passed a law providing for the establishment of the Ukrainian National Pantheon. A total of 287 members of parliament voted for Law No. 15360.
- The document stipulates that the Pantheon will become a nationwide place of remembrance to honor the most outstanding representatives of the Ukrainian nation.
- On 1 June, the head of the President’s Office, Kyrylo Budanov, during the Security Architecture forum, spoke about possible approaches to forming the list of figures who may be honored in the Pantheon.