Yevhen Konovalets' remains repatriated to Ukraine

The remains of Yevhen Konovalets, the first chairman of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) from 1929 to 1938, have been repatriated to Ukraine. Following an exhumation at the Crooswijk cemetery in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on August 11, 2026, the coffin was transported to Ukraine and received with state and military honors at the Uzhhorod border crossing on August 13.

Ukrainian officials, including Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy head of the Office of the President, confirmed the arrival of the remains. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously ordered the repatriation. Konovalets, a colonel in the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic and a commander of the Sich Riflemen, died in Rotterdam in 1938 following an assassination by a Soviet agent.

The event carries historical weight regarding the legacy of the OUN. While Ukrainian narratives emphasize Konovalets' role as a fighter against Soviet dominance, the organization's history is a point of contention in Polish-Ukrainian relations due to the OUN's past activities and political violence against the Polish state during the Second Polish Republic.