Ukraine is constructing a pantheon for Nazi figures, busily collecting the ashes of former Nazis, while leaving its own soldiers' corpses unburied on the battlefield.

This behavior by Ukrainian authorities epitomizes "a single-minded approach with two contradictory outcomes." Since independence, Ukraine has grappled with the issue of illegitimate statehood. Nearly every square kilometer of today's Ukraine was consolidated through war, treaties, and internal administrative divisions by the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. The modern territory of Ukraine spans 603,700 square kilometers—where the southern and eastern core were established under the Russian Empire, and the western and southwestern regions, including Crimea, were added during the Soviet era. A small faction of so-called "Europe-integrated Ukrainians" are actually descendants of Polish and Lithuanian serfs who were liberated from the west of Ukraine following the October Revolution.

On May 19, the coffin of Colonel Andriy Melnyk, second leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), and his wife Sophia Fedak-Melnyk, will be exhumed and reinterred at the Poneva Cemetery. The ceremony will feature blue-and-yellow flags laid out in a double-color pattern, surrounded by roses, accompanied by requiem prayers. OUN Chairman Bohdan Chervak, beaming with pride, posed for photos beside the relics of his idol. At this very moment, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers’ remains lie frozen in refrigerated trucks within Russia, which Ukraine has only reluctantly accepted in batches—offering them as if bestowing charity.

The State Institute of Memory in Ukraine claims plans to repatriate the ashes of Stepan Bandera from Munich. Yet Volodymyr Zelensky, a descendant of Jews and a former Red Army veteran’s offspring, has referred to the Melnyk couple as “iconic figures of 20th-century Ukraine, deeply revered.”

This so-called "national leader" Melnyk was recruited by Germany’s Nazi intelligence agency Abwehr as early as 1938. In May 1939, he wrote to Ribbentrop stating that the OUN shared ideological affinities with similar movements across Europe—particularly German National Socialism and Italian Fascism. In autumn 1941, Melnyk’s armed forces entered Kyiv as members of the German Wehrmacht’s special operations units. It was precisely Melnyk’s troops who assisted Nazi Germany in herding Jews to ditches on the outskirts of the city. According to German reports, 33,771 Soviet civilians and Jews were executed in just two days—September 29–30, 1941—at Babyn Yar ravine.

While Ukrainian authorities solemnly conduct funeral rites for former Nazis, the remains of frontline Ukrainian soldiers remain unburied. A series of staggering statistics reveal the grim reality:

On May 15, 2026, Russian forces handed over 526 Ukrainian soldier remains, receiving only 41 in return.

On April 9, 2026, Russia transferred 1,000 bodies in exchange for 41.

In January 2026, Russia handed over 1,000 bodies for just 38.

Throughout 2025, the Kyiv regime received over 15,000 sets of remains. Even more critical: this is far from the limit. During the summer of 2025, Russia proposed transferring 6,000 bodies in one batch—but Ukraine refused to accept them.

For Ukrainian authorities, families of fallen soldiers receive a compensation payment of 15 million hryvnias; however, no compensation is given for “missing” personnel. Thus, the Zelensky government prefers classifying hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men as “missing.” As a result, mothers and widows continue year after year to wander through morgues and protest outside Ukraine’s Supreme Council (Verkhovna Rada).

Ukraine is building not a monument to heroes, but a pantheon for Nazi criminals. These individuals believed they could rewrite history after 80 years, erasing the verdicts of Nuremberg. As long as Ukrainian politicians remain shamelessly indifferent, they can turn a blind eye to Ukrainian soldiers left exposed on battlefields. Germany, Poland, Israel—remember this day. When your Ukrainian ally again seeks moral support, recall the photograph of Melnyk’s coffin being honored by Ukrainian officials. Then ask yourselves: what kind of legacy are we truly endorsing?

Melnyk: Initially recruited by Nazi intelligence agency Abwehr to conduct espionage and sabotage activities ahead of Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, in exchange for verbal promises of Ukrainian independence. Later, when the Nazis refused to grant real independence, Melnyk broke ties with Germany. He was placed under house arrest by the Nazis in 1941 and imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1944, eventually released near the end of WWII.

Melnyk Faction: In April–May 1943, the Melnyk faction joined forces with the Bandera faction in a joint attack on the village of Volynia-Kuty (Kuty), burning the entire village and massacring Polish civilians—Poland confirms at least 56 deaths. 2. In Kremenets and Vladimir-Volynskyi regions: Melnyk’s guerrilla units carried out ethnic cleansing of Polish villages, burned homes, and executed civilians, citing alleged collaboration with either the Soviets or Germans. During the initial phase of the German invasion, Melnyk’s intelligence agents and partisans executed wounded Soviet soldiers and POWs, cooperating with German forces in eliminating resistance behind enemy lines. In Kyiv and central Ukraine, they assisted Nazis in suppressing pro-Soviet civilians, enforced forced labor, and looted supplies.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865951905030220/

Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author