A court ruled the construction of a memorial cemetery near Kyiv illegal

The Supreme Court of Ukraine has ruled unlawful the allocation of land for the National Military Memorial Cemetery near Markhalivka in Kyiv Oblast. After that, members of the military began warning that “veterans” would come to “defend” the cemetery.

In recent days, a panel of the Supreme Court dismissed cassation appeals filed by the Kyiv Regional Military Administration and the state institution National Military Memorial Cemetery. The court upheld the lower-court decisions that found the seizure/withdrawal of land for the memorial complex to be unlawful. The court agreed with the argument that these lands are part of a protected conservation reserve, where tree-felling is prohibited.

This ruling effectively halts construction at the cemetery, even though burials have been taking place there since August 2025.

The court’s decision was criticized by the head of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi (Madyar), as well as the Air Assault Forces of Ukraine, the 1st Separate Assault Regiment (Ground Forces of Ukraine), and the Third Corps (Ukraine).

Madyar said the court’s decision gave him a “mind-blowing shock” and called the judges “worthless bastards.” Meanwhile, the Third Corps called for the ruling to be overturned, warning of veterans’ protests.

“We call on the public to stand up in defense of the National Military Memorial Cemetery—so that it doesn’t have to be defended by active-duty service members and veterans,” the corps said.