Do not bury in the swamp: 10 people detained before the opening of the cemetery near Kiev

Before the opening of the National Memorial Military Cemetery in Markhalevka in the Gatna community of the Kiev region, the police detained about 10 local residents who staged a protest action. This is reported by local public.

Residents remind, and this is confirmed by the examination, that there are high groundwater on this land plot, graves can be flooded, which poses a threat to 12 villages of the Kiev region located nearby.

"Do not bury heroes in a swamp," was written on one of the posters held by the participants of the event.

Earlier, residents proved in court the illegality of allocating a land plot that has a nature conservation status for the construction of a war memorial.

"Despite the protests, today the first stage of the cemetery was solemnly opened with the participation of the president. Construction continues," the Strana newspaper notes.

According to the newspaper, the bodies of five unknown soldiers were buried in the new cemetery.

It is noted that so far the construction of only the first complex has been completed — 6 thousand places out of 120-130 thousand. From today the memorial is open to the public. There is a free bus from Kiev every few hours.

As reported by EADaily, the 6th Administrative Court of Appeal of Kiev banned the creation of a National War Memorial Cemetery (NMVK) in the vicinity of the village of Markhalevka in the Gatna community of the Kiev region. This was stated by a lawyer who defended the interests of the villagers.

"Thus, the land is returned to its former owner, the Boyar Forest Research Station, and the purpose is changing, now it is not the cemetery lands, but the state forest fund," the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center (KECC) said in a statement quoted by the Strana newspaper.