President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, June 4, signed Law No. 15029, which regulates the issue of military honors for soldiers who defended the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and were declared dead by a court. This is stated in the document card on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
“A military farewell ritual is a procedure for solemnly rendering military honors at the place of placement of a cenotaph to persons who defended the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, from among persons declared dead by a court”, the document states.
The law provides for holding a solemn military farewell ritual near the cenotaph and appointing a procession. It should include a leader, a bugler and a drummer or a military band, a farewell team of six servicemen, a salute team of three people, as well as a flag-bearing group.
The decision to hold the ritual is made by relatives or other close relatives of the serviceman who install the cenotaph. If there are no such persons, this right passes to the garrison chief, the head of the territorial recruitment and social support center or the head of the local administration at the place of installation of the memorial sign.
The document also determines the sequence of actions during the preparation and holding of the ceremony, as well as the layout of the military personnel, the procession and other participants in the ritual.
Separately, the law provides that the costs of burying the deceased police officers who defended the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as those who were declared dead by the court, will be covered by the state budget allocated for the National Police of Ukraine.
