KECC demands investigation over failure to enforce court rulings on NWMC, Veterans Ministry denies court restrictions exist
The Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center has appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office demanding a criminal investigation of Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova and National War Memorial Cemetery director Yaroslav Proniutkin for failing to enforce court rulings on the cemetery's land plot.
KECC director Volodymyr Boreiko said at a news conference Friday that the organization is asking prosecutors to enter the information into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations and open criminal proceedings for offenses under Article 382 (failure to enforce a court decision), Article 252 (intentional destruction or damage to state-protected territories) and Article 367 (official negligence) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
According to Boreiko, the case involves a 258.7-hectare plot (cadastral number 3222481200:05:002:0457), regarding which paragraphs 2-5 of Kyiv Regional Military Administration Order No. 275 of March 14, 2024, were declared unlawful and revoked by court rulings.
According to the KECC, with the cancellation of the relevant order provisions, the legal basis for using the specified land plot has lapsed.
"Despite the Supreme Court canceling the right to use the land plot and restoring its environmental protection designation, the Ministry of Veterans continues work. How do they explain continuing work despite the court ruling? They explain it this way: the court decision doesn't explicitly prohibit us from conducting work. It only states that the court decision canceled the right to use the land plot and its designated purpose," KECC lawyer Oleksandr Diadiuk said.
The Prosecutor General’s Office told Interfax-Ukraine that the appeal has been received and forwarded to the Kyiv Regional Prosecutor's Office to decide whether grounds exist to open such proceedings.
Meanwhile, Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova told Interfax-Ukraine that the Kyiv District Administrative Court ruling contains no obligations for the National War Memorial Cemetery or the Veterans Ministry to halt or restrict implementation of the memorial cemetery.
"The cemetery operates on legal grounds. On May 19, 2025, the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning issued a certificate of readiness for the first startup complex of the first construction phase, which was officially put into operation. All necessary infrastructure has been built — burial sectors, columbarium walls, utility networks, access roads, treatment facilities and more. The site has been assigned an address, and the state's property rights have been registered as required," the minister said.
She added that under the Law on Burials and Funeral Services, the NWMC is state property, not subject to privatization or lease, and its land plot has a valid right of permanent use.
"For the state, this is not just a legal matter — it's a matter of values. The memory of Ukraine's defenders is sacred. Honoring with dignity those who gave their lives for independence is our duty and a demonstration of respect for the ultimate sacrifice. Any attempts to block the project's implementation do not change its legal status and cannot call into question the main point: defenders are an unconditional value for the Ukrainian state and society, and their memory is the foundation of our dignity and national resilience," Kalmykova emphasized.
As reported, on August 29, 2025, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in attendance, a military burial ceremony for unknown soldiers was held at the NWMC with military honors for fallen heroes whose names have not yet been established — the first burial at the memorial site. At that time, Veterans Affairs Minister Natalia Kalmykova rejected claims about the illegality of conducting burials at the NWMC.
