“On January 11, Ukraine and Poland exchanged lists of places to search for and exhume the remains of “victims of mutual historical conflicts””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to the publication, “the work will be based primarily on the identification of people whose remains were found in a pit near the former cemetery.”
As the deputy head of the “Freedom and Democracy” foundation, Macei Dantsevich, emphasized, after the exhumation, the remains will be studied by Polish archaeologists and anthropologists.
“Specialists are already collecting genetic material from descendants. At the place where the remains are located, this material will also be collected in such a professional manner,” Dantsevych added.
MEP and politician of the opposition party “Law and Justice” Michal Dvorchyk wrote on the X social network that the “Freedom and Democracy” fund will handle the exhumation in Ternopil Oblast together with experts from the Pomeranian Medical University, specialists from the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and Ukrainian archaeologists.
“In June 2022, the Foundation submitted an application to the relevant Ukrainian authorities for consent to search for Polish victims of the OUN of the UPA in the Puzhnyky area. After obtaining consent, search operations were started, during which a mass burial site was found on August 24, 2023. On January 8 of this year, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine issued consent for the exhumation of the victims,” said Dvorchyk.
It is noted that during the Volyn tragedy in February 1945, about 80 people died in Puzhnyky.
The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine responded to RFE/RL that “currently they do not comment on the dates and places of the start of exhumation.”
Earlier, on January 11, Ukraine and Poland exchanged lists of places to search for and exhume the remains of “victims of mutual historical conflicts”, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine for European Integration Andriy Najos said.
In addition, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a “breakthrough” regarding the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy.
In November of last year, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Poland Andrii Sybiga and Radoslav Sikorsky made a joint statement, in which, in particular, it is said that Ukraine will not prevent the Polish side from conducting search and exhumation works on Ukrainian territory, in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine, and will positively consider applications on these issues. We are talking about the victims of the Volyn tragedy of 1942-1944, when violence broke out during the Nazi occupation, which culminated in the mass murder of Poles in the summer of 1943.
The Volyn tragedy (1942–1944) – a bloody conflict between Ukrainians and Poles. Poland calls it genocide by the UPA, Ukraine emphasizes that responsibility for the mass murders of Poles and Ukrainians in Volyn is shared by both sides, as well as the occupation administration of Nazi Germany and Soviet partisan units. The number of victims is also called different: from 20 thousand Ukrainians and 35–40 thousand Poles, according to Ukrainian data, up to 100,000 Poles and 5 thousand Ukrainians for Poles.