Odesa Proposes Honorary Military Memorial for Fallen Defenders with Interfaith Chapel

The NGO Family of Angels of Light proposed to the Odesa City Council and representatives of religious denominations to create an honorary military memorial burial on the territory of Odesa's Western Cemetery.

The head of the NGO , Angelina Lyubchak, told Intent that on April 21, a discussion of the construction of an interfaith chapel on the territory of the future memorial is planned.

The organization has prepared a project that provides for the arrangement of a separate area for military burials and the construction of an interfaith chapel open to representatives of different faiths.

The project is now ready, but the organization has encountered misunderstandings from the city authorities about the appearance of the graves and the memorial.

"The city authorities offer black and dark colors, but we insist on light gray so that it does not look like others. We have already proposed a project, but the public did not like it. They thought that it smacked a bit of Soviet motifs," she said.

On April 17, the Odesa City Council hosted a meeting of the Working Group on Interaction with Veterans' Organizations and Families of Fallen Defenders.

Last year, Odesa region banned the publication of information about the date and time of burial of soldiers who died in the war with Russia. The relevant order "On Additional Measures of the Legal Regime of Martial Law" was issued by the leadership of the Odesa Operational and Tactical Group.

In January 2024, a separate plot was allocated at one of Odesa's cemeteries for the burial of fallen Ukrainian defenders. Identical tombstones are currently being installed there. Financial assistance to the families of fallen soldiers for burial has also been increased.

Кирило Бойко