Azov Corps responds to court ruling on transferring land for memorial cemetery

This is stated in a declaration by the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Azov" on Telegram regarding the situation around the National Military Memorial Cemetery, Ukrinform reports.

"For the military, the memory of the fallen is an integral component of military honor, tradition, and the internal order on which the army stands. Every fallen defender of Ukraine has the right to a dignified burial with military honors, and this is the duty of the state to those who gave their lives for it," the statement reads.

The Azov Corps says it "does not agree with the court decision that recognizes as illegal the transfer of land for the National Military Memorial Cemetery. A decision issued 'in the name of Ukraine' cynically tramples on the rights of those who died for that very name. Those who spoke it in the last minute of their lives."

"Court decisions in the field of land use cannot and must not nullify the honoring of fallen warriors that has already taken place. Adherence to formal norms without regard to their substance and purpose is unacceptable. Fallen defenders must not become hostages to human indifference, professional incompetence, or legal speculation. When issuing its decision, did the court consider what would happen to the warriors who have already been buried?" the Azov Corps notes.

The ensign service of the 1st Corps of the NGU "Azov" emphasizes that during wartime the state has no right to destroy rituals of remembrance.

"The burial place of warriors is part of combat brotherhood, a symbol of the continuity of the armed forces and the responsibility of the living to the dead. And in Ukraine it must remain where it is now, where it was designated by the state," the Azov Corps stressed.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Ukrainian servicemen are calling for a review of the Supreme Court decision that declared illegal the transfer of land for the National Military Memorial Cemetery in the Markhalivskyi Forest.

On January 29, a panel of judges of the Cassation Administrative Court of the Supreme Court of Ukraine dismissed the cassation appeals of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration and the state institution "National Military Memorial Cemetery." The court upheld the decisions of lower courts that found the seizure of land for a memorial complex near the village of Markhalivka in Kyiv Region to be unlawful.

Ukrinform photos available for purchase here