Yevhen Konovalets: The Story of the Reburial of the First OUN Leader

The remains of Colonel of the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the first head of the leadership of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), Yevhen Konovalets, were reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

According to Militarnyi, this was reported by Ukrinform.

The ceremony was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and other government officials.

The president noted that Colonel Konovalets’s fate was heroic and, at the same time, tragic, like a symbol of that entire period of Ukrainian history.

“Today, we are all taking part in an event of national significance, as Ukraine once again restores the highest historical justice — justice for itself. We are bringing home an outstanding son of the Ukrainian people. He was an exemplary warrior and an important Ukrainian statesman, Colonel Yevhen Konovalets,” Zelenskyy emphasized.

The president said that Ukraine would bring back to their homeland all the heroes who fought for Ukraine, inspired others and contributed to the country, and who, unfortunately, are buried outside Ukraine.

The remains of the first head of the OUN were temporarily reburied at the National Military Memorial Cemetery. They are later expected to be reburied at the Ukrainian National Pantheon.

Last week, following the return of his remains to Ukraine, Ukrainian military personnel bid farewell to Colonel Konovalets. In addition, the colors of the Defense Forces units were solemnly blessed near Konovalets’s coffin.

Yevhen Konovalets

Yevhen Konovalets was a Ukrainian military and political figure of the first half of the 20th century. During World War I, he was captured by Russian forces as an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army. After 1917, he took part in the formation of Ukrainian military units in Kyiv.

From 1917 to 1921, he commanded the Sich Riflemen of the Army of the Ukrainian People’s Republic. After the defeat of the Ukrainian War of Independence, he founded the Ukrainian Military Organization (UVO), and in 1929 became the founder and first head of the OUN leadership.

Konovalets was killed on May 23, 1938, in Rotterdam in a terrorist attack organized by Soviet intelligence services with the involvement of NKVD agent Pavel Sudoplatov.

On August 11, 2026, the remains of Colonel Yevhen Konovalets were exhumed at the Crooswijk Cemetery in Rotterdam for reburial in Ukraine. The remains were returned to Ukraine as early as August 13.