Ukrainians call on the authorities to stop the backstage and ensure transparency in the construction of the National War Memorial
The question of creating the National Military Memorial Cemetery (NVMK) is not just an architectural construction project, but a symbol of national memory, a place that should become an eternal reminder of the heroes who gave their lives for the independence of Ukraine. But the process of implementing this historically important project caused a wide resonance in society already at the initial stages. Citizens, media representatives, architects, servicemen and families of fallen soldiers turned to to the authorities with a call to stop behind-the-scenes decisions and return transparency and trust to this important issue.
In their open appeal to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Minister of Veterans Affairs Natalya Kalmykova, citizens express deep concern about the way the process of development and construction of the NVMK is organized. They emphasize that the creation of the main military memorial of Ukraine is taking place in conditions that contradict the principles of transparency and democracy, to which Ukrainian society strives.
In the spring of 2023, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine developed a roadmap for an open architectural competition for a sketch project of the memorial. This initiative was supposed to become a symbol of fair competition, which would allow the best architects of Ukraine to participate in the creation of a memorial that will remain in the memory of future generations. However, this idea was overshadowed by backroom decisions. Instead of a transparent competition, the responsible structures organized formal round tables, which became only an imitation of a dialogue with the public.
The society is particularly outraged by the holding of tenders in which only one participant participated. As a result, the engineering-holding company became the contractor for the development of the sketch project, and the construction of the memorial was handed over to the consortium “Building.YUA”. The responsible persons quickly concluded contracts, despite public criticism and dubious connections of contractors with under-sanctioned businessmen. According to investigative journalists, one of the contractor companies is connected to a businessman who conducted business in the occupied territories of Crimea and paid taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation.
The participants of the appeal emphasize that such actions undermine trust in the authorities and create a dangerous precedent. The families of the fallen soldiers, who are waiting for a place for a dignified burial of their loved ones, deserve the process to be open and transparent. The haste with which contracts were concluded is justified by the fact that holding the competition “will take time”, but the experience of other cities of Ukraine shows the opposite. In Lviv, Vinnytsia, and Chernivtsi, architectural competitions for memorial objects were held openly, and this did not prevent the rapid implementation of projects.
Public concern is caused by the participation in the project of the architect, who, according to the information in the application, visited Moscow in 2015 during the Russian aggression against Ukraine. At the time when the Ukrainian military was fighting for independence, this architect took part in events in the capital of the Russian Federation. Citizens consider such a candidacy inadmissible for the creation of the National War Memorial.
The authors of the appeal emphasize that the memorial is not only a place of burial, but a symbol that will reflect the dignity of the Ukrainian people and the memory of its heroes. They call on the authorities to ensure that an honest architectural competition is held, which will allow the creation of a memorial that will meet high quality standards and become the pride of Ukraine. Society has the right to participate in this process, because the memorial is created not only for the current generation, but also for the future.
“Let us be worthy of the sacrifice of our fallen”, – these words end the appeal.
The authors call on the authorities not to disrespect public trust and to do everything possible to make the process of creating the National Military Memorial Cemetery an example of transparency, dignity and respect for the memory of heroes.
