Illustration photo. Photo: Mikko Oja.
During evacuations in Ukraine, not only the living are being relocated. Increasingly, families are also forced to move the graves of their loved ones.
People leaving dangerous or frontline areas do not take with them only belongings and memories. They are compelled to relocate the remains of relatives buried in regions that have become unsafe or inaccessible. Reburials are carried out in areas where families can now live and move more safely, allowing them to remain close to the graves and care for them.
In the village of Petropavlivka, a fallen Ukrainian defender was recently reburied after the family relocated to the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine. The reburial was conducted with official approval, following a decision by the local municipal authorities.
These cases are not isolated. In the city of Dnipro, a dedicated burial area has been established for remains transferred from Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Families who fled the fighting have brought with them the graves of their relatives so they can continue to tend them and maintain a connection to the deceased, even as their home regions remain behind frontline lines or under occupation.
The relocation of graves reveals a dimension of war that often remains overshadowed by military and political reporting. It demonstrates how war extends even into mourning, remembrance, and the ways families are able to process loss.
Graves as Targets Under Occupation
One reason behind the relocation of graves is the fear that burial sites and memorials may not remain intact in occupied territories. In Ukraine’s Kherson region, particularly around Kalanchak and the village of Bilylivka, local communities have reported that Russian occupation authorities have leveled graves and destroyed memorial markers.
According to available reports, graves have been dug up, coffins removed, and burial sites filled in to ground level. As a result, the fate of some remains has become unknown. Among the affected sites are graves of Ukrainian soldiers who were buried during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
These incidents indicate that respect for burial sites and their preservation has not been upheld during the occupation. For many families, relocating graves away from occupied areas has therefore become a way to protect the memory of their loved ones and to ensure that visiting and maintaining graves remains possible.
Source:
https://united24media.com/latest-news/graves-of-ukrainian-soldiers-in-kherson-region-desecrated-by-russian-occupation-authorities-1090