Is the monument to Sich Riflemen on the Veretsky pass dilapidating? (Photofact)

Indeed the main monument on the Veretsky pass – to those who defended Ukraine – currently is not in the best shape.

In fact, the memorial is dedicated to the Sich Riflemen, whose place of burial is located nearby in a small military cemetery. However, when the memorial was opened, they made the inscription too abstract, not saying which specific events and which Heroes it is about, despite the fact that this land is watered with their blood.   

The fact is that the memorial (in the village of Verbyazh in Volovets district on the border with Skole district of Lviv region) is not completed – the initial project was different. And now the territory of the monument is neglected: stone is cracking, the place is overgrown with bushes and grass, which no one mows. Littering is also rather common, in particular, right near the graves of the Sich Riflemen…

It is especially disheartening because another monument, which is located nearby and is infamous – to mark the occasion of "the Hungarians’ entry to homeland" – is a constant subject of attention, and there is no shortage of national symbols of the neighboring country there. On Friday, June 3, another event took place there.

Currently, the question "shouldn’t we honor our own first?" remains rhetorical.

By the way, we drew attention to this problem before: in March 2014 the situation was similar.