At the National Military Memorial Cemetery (NMMC), 108 Ukrainian defenders have been laid to rest since its opening on August 29. This was reported by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs.
According to the ministry, among those buried are 97 military personnel whose names remain unknown, as well as 11 defenders whose families requested to conduct the burial at the NMMC. Temporary memorial plaques with names have been placed on their graves, and later their names will be engraved on the Memorial Wall of Remembrance.
The ministry clarified that burials are conducted both in the traditional manner and through the interment of urns with ashes. A Hero of Ukraine already rests in the cemetery's columbarium. It is also reported that new requests from families of fallen soldiers, wishing to bury their loved ones at the memorial, are continuously received by the state institution.
“This process is ongoing, and the number of requests is increasing. Families expect ceremonial proceedings according to established procedures,” — the ministry stated.
All burials are carried out according to the military burial rituals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with military honors observed. Representatives of the clergy can join the ceremonies at the families' request.

One of those buried at the National Military Memorial Cemetery is volunteer warrior, EuroMaidan participant, journalist, and historian Oleg Rybalchenko. He died in the winter of 2022. After the funeral service, his body was cremated, and the urn with his ashes was buried on September 20, 2025, at the memorial site. The family waited for over three years for this opportunity for the Hero to find eternal rest in a place that honors Ukrainian defenders.

It is worth noting that the memorial cemetery opened on August 29 in the Fastiv district of Kyiv region. The first five unidentified defenders of Ukraine were buried here. Overall, the project provides for 120–130 thousand burial spaces.