The Rada has passed a law establishing a new system for military memorials and the burial sites of defenders

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted Bill No. 13693 in its second reading and as a whole, which revises the approaches to honoring fallen Ukrainian defenders. The bill was approved by 267 members of parliament.

This is reported in the summary of Bill No. 13693.

The law provides for the creation of a network of military memorial cemeteries in all regions of Ukraine, as well as the establishment of a unified state protocol for burials.

In particular, the document clearly defines, for the first time at the legislative level, the concepts of “military memorial cemetery,” “military cemetery,” “honorary burial,” and “military burial section.”

It also introduces a provision for free burial for individuals awarded the Order “For Courage” of the three degrees. Local communities are required to adhere to uniform standards for the creation and maintenance of military burial sites.

Separately, the law outlines a plan for developing memorial infrastructure, which includes the construction of five large military memorial cemeteries. The project will be implemented in phases: the first thousand grave markers are scheduled to be installed in 2026, and by 2029, capacity will be expanded to 4,000 units annually.

To maintain these sites, there are also plans to increase the staff of relevant institutions from 100 to 400 employees.

Funding is allocated in the state budget: in 2026, it will amount to 183.1 million UAH, of which 150 million UAH will be allocated for design and construction. By 2029, annual expenditures will rise to 349.3 million UAH due to infrastructure expansion and increased personnel maintenance costs.

The funds are to be provided through the reallocation of budget allocations from the Ministry of Veterans Affairs. The bill was finally approved without any votes against.