Exhumation work at the burial sites of Polish victims of the Volhynia tragedy is set to begin in the spring. This was reported by the publication RMF 24.
The first location for these activities in April will be the now non-existent village of Puzhnyky near Ternopil. Two years ago, representatives of the Polish foundation "Freedom and Democracy" discovered a mass burial site there, believed to be the resting place of victims of the Volhynia tragedy. It is claimed that the Ukrainian authorities have already granted permission to extract the remains from the ground and conduct further investigations.
According to Maciej Danczewicz, the deputy chairman of the "Freedom and Democracy" foundation, the remains, layered on top of each other, were found in a pit near the former cemetery. Specialists are currently collecting genetic material from descendants of Poles who once lived in the village. After the research is completed, there are plans to reinter these remains and establish a memorial site for these individuals.
According to Polish sources, in February 1945, a UPA unit allegedly attacked the village and killed around a hundred local Poles. The remaining residents left the village for good and eventually settled in areas that are now part of Poland.
Restoration of Exhumations for Victims of the Volhynia Tragedy
As reported by UNIAN, in 2017, against the backdrop of the dismantling of monuments to UPA soldiers in Poland, Kyiv imposed a moratorium on the exhumation of Polish victims of the Volhynia tragedy. In November 2024, the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Poland managed to agree on lifting the moratorium.
In response, Poland committed to giving due attention to the memorial sites of Ukrainians on Polish territory. Ukraine assured that it would monitor how the Poles fulfill these agreements.