National Military Memorial Cemetery: Sinkholes Near Graves Are Natural Soil Settlement

The National Military Memorial Cemetery (NMMC) has stated that the ground depressions that appeared at individual burial sites after heavy rainfall are natural soil settlement, not erosion of graves or the influence of groundwater. The institution asserts that this is natural soil compaction following traditional burials, a normal process.

The NMMC emphasizes that the settlement occurs only within burial plots and that temporary grave markers remain in proper position. According to the cemetery, soil compaction after burial can last from several months to several years, depending on soil type, weather, and time elapsed since burial. This explains the practice of installing permanent grave markers approximately one year after burial.

After the intense rainfall ended, cemetery workers began backfilling and leveling the areas where the soil had subsided. However, the statement does not explain other damage previously reported by the Kyiv Ecological-Cultural Center (KECC): washed-out gravel roads, asphalt collapses, and soil sliding due to water flows.

In early July, the KECC reported that heavy rain had washed out gravel roads, caused asphalt to collapse in places, and swept away soil. The center released video and stated that significant depressions had formed directly in the burial zone.

As early as April 2024, Ukrainska Pravda reported residents' concerns about the potential impact of cemetery construction on groundwater. Then-deputy director of NMMC, Yaroslav Starushchenko, assured that burial sites would be located only on absolutely non-floodable terrain, where the groundwater level would never rise above two meters from the surface in any season.

In February 2026, an article about disputes surrounding the NMMC also highlighted the complex hydrology of the area. KECC head Volodymyr Boreiko claimed that groundwater rises close to the surface there, and videos published by local residents showed water-filled pits.