A memorial object remained abroad for nearly six decades before a coordinated effort brought it closer to the place where his story began.
A gravestone belonging to Andriy Melnyk, head of the OUN Leadership, has been brought to the Lviv region from Luxembourg. The memorial had remained at the activist’s burial site in Luxembourg for nearly 62 years.
The slab was delivered to Andriy Melnyk’s native village of Volia Yakubova in the Drohobych district. Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration, wrote about its return in a Facebook post.
The gravestone will be placed near the Andriy Melnyk Museum
The memorial is planned to be installed next to the museum dedicated to Andriy Melnyk. The slab was transported to the Lviv region through the joint efforts of the Office of the President and the Lviv Regional State Administration.
After the ashes of the colonel and his wife Sofia were returned to Ukraine and reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv, it was important to preserve this memorial as well and return it to the place where Andriy Melnyk was born and began his life’s journey
– Maksym Kozytskyi
For nearly 62 years, it stood at his burial site in Luxembourg. Now it will be located next to the museum dedicated to our fellow countryman
– Maksym Kozytskyi
The reburial of Andriy Melnyk and Sofia Fedak-Melnyk
The remains of Andriy Melnyk, a colonel in the Ukrainian People’s Republic army and leader of the OUN from 1938 to 1964, and his wife Sofia Fedak-Melnyk were returned to Ukraine on May 21. On May 25, 2026, they were reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery in Kyiv.
Maksym Kozytskyi emphasized that the return to Ukraine and reburial of prominent Ukrainians who, due to historical circumstances, were buried outside the country is taking place at the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This process is part of preserving Ukraine’s historical memory.