“The project to create a new military cemetery in the village of Novoselytsia of the Verkhnyosyrovat community of the Sumy region faced strong resistance from local residents, despite the full approval of the documentation and the passing of state examinations. The Sumy city military administration reported this in Telegram. The situation in the Sumy community is currently critical, because the Baranivskyi cemetery has almost run out of places on Heroes’ Alley, and the only open cemetery on”, — write on: ua.news
The project to create a new military cemetery in the village of Novoselytsia of the Verkhnyosyrovat community of the Sumy region faced strong resistance from local residents, despite the full approval of the documentation and the passing of state examinations.
The Sumy city military administration reported this in Telegram.
The situation in the Sumy community is critical at the moment, because the Baraniv cemetery has almost run out of places on Alley of Heroes, and the only open cemetery on Berezovy gai street will be able to accept burials only in the next few months. The Sumy city military administration has already identified the contractor — Sumy-Service-Bud LLC — and provided for the financing of the works in the 2026 budget.
The main reason for the peasants’ protests is the fear of drinking water contamination due to the specifics of the terrain and soils. Since the future cemetery is planned to be located on a hill above the village, residents are convinced that decomposition products and sewage will enter their wells and wells through the sand layers. Residents also point to the presence of a high-pressure gas pipeline and an old asbestos water main under the site, which may be damaged during construction, leaving the village without water supply.
The authorities are trying to find a compromise, offering the villagers a “barter system” – the construction of a new modern waterworks in exchange for consent to the arrangement of the cemetery. However, residents of Novoselytsa reject this proposal, stating that the technical support does not compensate for the environmental risks to their health. Similar conflicts are now observed in other regions, in particular near Kyiv, where residents of Markhalivka are protesting against the National Military Memorial Cemetery for similar reasons. Currently, the issue of commemorating the fallen heroes in Sumy remains blocked due to the lack of understanding between the administration and the local community.
Earlier we wrote that a separate sector will be created at the Memorial Cemetery for temporary burials of fallen defenders who could not be identified during the year.
Also, in May 2025, the authorities promised to start the first burials of unidentified Ukrainian servicemen at the National Military Memorial Cemetery.
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