The exhumation of Polish victims of the Volyn massacre in the former village of Puzhnyky (now Sadove) in Ukraine’s Ternopil region is expected to begin after the Easter holidays, around April 25.
Maciej Dancewicz, deputy head of Poland’s Freedom and Democracy Foundation, which received official approval in January to carry out the exhumation, said this in comments to an Ukrinform correspondent.
Dancewicz said that at the end of March and early April, part of the Polish team involved in the exhumation would visit Ukraine to coordinate technical details of the operation.
“The work will start after Easter, but the exact date is yet to be finalized. […] I estimate it will be around April 25,” he said.
The Polish team conducting the exhumation in Puzhnyky will consist of more than ten specialists, led by Dr. Andrzej Ossowski from the Department of Forensic Medicine at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin. This institution manages Poland’s Genetic Database of Totalitarianism Victims, and its experts — geneticists, anthropologists, and archaeologists — are among the most experienced in Poland in conducting field exhumations.
In addition to Pomeranian Medical University experts, the team will include specialists from the Freedom and Democracy Foundation and representatives from the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland.
The exhumation is expected to last about one month and will take place near an old cemetery where, in 2023, search operations confirmed the presence of remains belonging to Polish victims of the tragic events in Volhynia.
“We aim to exhume the grave, examine the remains, and then rebury them in the old cemetery in Puzhnyky, as previously agreed with the Ukrainian side,” Dancewicz said.
According to Polish records, 80 villagers were killed in Puzhnyky on the night of February 13-14, 1945. Polish authorities expect to recover 80-90 sets of remains from the site.
After completing the Puzhnyky exhumation, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation is prepared to undertake further exhumations in other locations in Ukraine. One priority is the search and exhumation of Polish soldiers who died in battles against Wehrmacht forces near Lviv in September 1939.
“This year, we will request permission from the Ukrainian government to continue work at that site, which was previously conducted between 2014 and 2017. However, for now, our focus remains on the April-May operation in Puzhnyky,” Dancewicz said.
He added that Polish-Ukrainian cooperation on this issue has been positive, with strong support from Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, Poland’s Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, and local authorities in the Ternopil region.
On January 14, Ukraine officially granted Poland permission to conduct exhumation works in April for Polish victims of the Volyn massacre who died in 1945. Kyiv and Warsaw have also exchanged lists of locations where they seek to locate the remains of victims from past conflicts between the two nations.
While Poland insists that Ukraine bears sole responsibility for the Volyn massacre of 1943-1945, Ukraine argues that both sides share responsibility, calling for mutual recognition and reconciliation.
Russia has actively exploited the Volyn tragedy to stir division between Ukrainians and Poles through propaganda efforts.
Photo: Michal Dworczyk / X
Source: Poland hopes exhumation of Volyn massacre victims in Ternopil region will begin after Easter
