Ukraine Plans National Pantheon for Heroes

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has introduced a draft law to establish a national pantheon in Kyiv honoring outstanding figures from Ukraine's history. The announcement was made during a Constitution Day event. Zelenskyy stated that the pantheon would unite the names of all heroes who fought for and inspired Ukraine across centuries and epochs, inscribing them permanently into the nation's history. Presidential chief of staff Kyrylo Budanov added that no one would again dictate to Ukrainians which heroes to revere, which holidays to celebrate, or which history to learn, linking the project to the ongoing struggle for self-determination and independence. The initiative is seen as a response to a dispute with Poland, whose President Karol Nawrocki had revoked a high honor from Zelenskyy over historical disagreements.