Ukraine grants permission to exhume victims of Volyn tragedy in Ternopil region
In April, the exhumation of the remains of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy buried in the former village of Puzhnyky, located near Ternopil in Ukraine, will begin.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to RMF FM.
As noted, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, which found this burial site two years ago, received permission from the Ukrainian authorities to remove the remains from the ground and conduct further research. First of all, it is about identifying the people whose remains were found in the pit near the former cemetery.
Maciej Danciewicz, deputy head of the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, emphasized that the remains will be examined by Polish archaeologists and anthropologists. The specialists are already collecting genetic material from descendants.
"At the site where the remains are located, this material will also be collected in a professional manner," Dantsevich added.
It is noted that after the research, it is planned to rebury the victims and honor this place. It is also reported that about 80 people died in Puzhnyky.
Questions about the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy
As reported, in September, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that without resolving the issue of the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy, Ukraine cannot dream of joining the EU.At the same time, Polish President Andrzej Duda said that attempts to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union play into the hands of Vladimir Putin's policy.
During his visit to Warsaw on October 1, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine was ready to discuss with Poland controversial issues of common history, including the Volyn tragedy of 1943-1944.
On October 2, the UINP stated that they plan to conduct search operations for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in 2025. The Institute also stated that it remains open to cooperation with Polish institutions in the field of searching, preserving and caring for the places of memory of Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine, and complained that official inter-institutional mechanisms for resolving problematic issues with the Polish side in the restoration and preservation of places of memory have not been in place for a long time.
Drobovich believes that Ukrainian and Polish officials need to finally move to constructive action "in the problematic issues of exhumation and burials," and proposed a "road map."
On October 4 , the Polish Defense Minister reaffirmed his intention to block Ukraine's accession to the EU until the issue of exhumation and commemoration of the victims of the Volyn tragedy is resolved.
On November 26, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, after speaking with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha, said that Kyiv had assured him that there were no obstacles to the search and exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Ukraine.
On January 11, the Ministry of Culture reported that Ukraine and Poland had exchanged lists of places to search for and exhume the remains of mutual historical conflicts. Kyiv is committed to "positive decisions" on this issue.
