The law prohibits the use of nature reserve fund lands for the establishment of the National Military Memorial Cemetery

In recent days, media attention has been drawn to a decision adopted by the Supreme Court in a case related to the National Military Memorial Cemetery.

First of all, it should be noted that courts adjudicate cases in accordance with the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, as well as international treaties whose binding nature has been approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

In this case, the courts established that the National Military Memorial Cemetery was created by a special law, and the procedure for its arrangement and location was also determined by law.

To ensure its establishment, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted another law that introduced a direct prohibition on changing the designated use of lands of the nature protection fund for such purposes. This law explicitly states that, for the placement of the National Military Memorial Cemetery, it is not permitted to change the designated use of land plots belonging to the nature reserve fund and other conservation lands, water fund lands, as well as residential development areas defined by approved urban planning documentation at the local level.

Despite this legislative prohibition, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration adopted a decision to change the designated use of a land plot classified as nature protection land and used it for the creation of the memorial.

The inconsistency of these actions with the law and the unlawfulness of the adopted administrative decisions were confirmed in this case by the courts, including the Supreme Court.

Resolution of the Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court dated 29 January 2026 in case No. 320/25649/24: https://reyestr.court.gov.ua/Review/133682018.

These and other legal opinions of the Supreme Court can be found in the Supreme Court’s Database of Legal Positions – https://lpd.court.gov.ua.