Main image: Puźniki, search of the mass grave in July 2023. Exhumations of Polish victims of the UPA have begun at this location today. / Wojtek Jargiło / PAP
On the morning of April 24, exhumation of Polish citizens who died during the Volyn tragedy began in the now-disappeared village of Puzhnyky in the Ternopil region, as reported by RF24.
The exhumation work is being carried out by a Polish-Ukrainian team of researchers, including forensic experts, archaeologists, geneticists, and anthropologists.
From the Polish side, researchers from the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, scientists from the Pomeranian Medical University, and representatives from the Institute of National Remembrance are on-site. Ukrainian organization Volyn Antiquities is also participating in the efforts.
The Volyn (Volhynia) tragedy
Between 1943 and 1944, mass killings of Poles took place in Volhynia. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance cites official data of 120,000 Polish victims in Volhynia and the southeastern provinces of the Second Polish Republic, along with 5,000 Ukrainians killed. Ukrainian historians offer different figures, estimating up to 20,000 Ukrainians and 35,000 to 40,000 Poles killed.
Debates continue regarding the perpetrators and organizers of the crime. In Poland, the Volhynian tragedy is referred to as a "massacre" and is officially recognized as "genocide," with accusations directed at the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. However, this interpretation is not accepted in Ukraine.
After Ukraine gained independence, the issue of the Volhynian Tragedy was repeatedly raised by politicians from both countries. Ukraine and Poland held joint events to honor the victims and sought to find points of understanding. However, after Poland officially recognized the Volyn Tragedy as genocide in 2016, the discussions became more heated.
In response to the widespread destruction of Ukrainian monuments in Poland between 2015 and 2017 and the inadequate investigation of these crimes, Ukraine introduced a so-called moratorium on search operations and exhumations of Polish victims killed between 1943 and 1945 by the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army).
- In June 2022, the ministries of culture of Ukraine and Poland signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of national memory. The memorandum stipulated the search, exhumation, and burial of victims and was to take effect once martial law in Ukraine was lifted. However, during Russia's full-scale invasion, Poland continued to raise the issue of searching for and exhuming Polish graves on Ukrainian soil.
- In 2023, Ukraine responded to Poland's requests by conducting joint research with Poland at the site of a former village cemetery in Sadove, Chortkiv district, Ternopil region (formerly the village of Puzhnyky).
- At the same time, Poland did not fulfill Ukraine's request to restore the memorial plaque at the burial site of UPA fighters on Mount Monastyr. The issue of restoring the plaque, with the names of those buried in the mass grave, was raised at the highest level, including by the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland.
- In January 2025, Ukraine allowed for the first time the exhumation of the bodies of Polish victims of the Volhynian Tragedy.
