Ukraine and Poland agreed on the details of the exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy

Kyiv and Warsaw have agreed on two locations in Ukraine and Poland where search or exhumation work will be carried out for the victims of the Volyn tragedy of 1945.

This was stated by the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine Mykola Tochytskyi in an interview with Ukrinform.

The countries are currently coordinating logistics regarding the locations of the works and who will participate. Ensuring the safety of those involved is a key issue that both countries are working on.

The minister noted that last December, a Ukrainian-Polish group was created to deal with complex issues of bilateral relations. There have already been three meetings, the last one on March 30. At that meeting, Kyiv and Warsaw exchanged lists of places where they would like to conduct search, research, and exhumation work.

Answering the question of whether it is worth waiting for permission to conduct search and exhumation work this year, Tochytskyi emphasized that the parties are "working on this issue," noting that "this is a two-way road".

According to Tochytskyi, all logistical issues are being resolved now. After the countries conduct the first search or exhumation work, Ukraine and Poland will provide detailed information about the results.

Volyn tragedy

In 1943-1944, mass murders of Poles took place in Volhynia. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance cites official data of 120 000 Poles killed in Volhynia and the southeastern provinces of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and also mentions 5 000 Ukrainians killed. Ukrainian historians cite other figures: up to 20 000 Ukrainians killed and 35-40 000 Poles killed.

Discussions are also ongoing regarding the perpetrators and organizers of the crime. In Poland, the Volyn tragedy is called a "massacre", officially recognized as "genocide", and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army is blamed, but this interpretation is not shared in Ukraine.

After Ukraine gained independence, the issue of the Volyn tragedy was repeatedly raised by politicians in both countries. Ukraine and Poland held joint events to honor the victims and tried to find points of understanding. However, in 2016, Poland recognized the Volyn tragedy as genocide, after which the discussions intensified. For more details on the relations between Poland and Ukraine and the agreements of the countries in the context of the Volyn tragedy, see here.

The issue of the Volyn tragedy is also important in the context of Ukraineʼs European integration. The Polish Foreign Minister stated that his country would raise the issue of the exhumation of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy in the first chapter of negotiations on Ukraineʼs membership in the EU.

He later stated that negotiations on Ukraineʼs membership in the EU would be difficult, but "no issues unrelated to EU membership" would affect Polandʼs position.

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosińska-Kamyś also said he would block Ukraineʼs accession to the EU until the issue of the exhumation and commemoration of the victims of the Volhynia tragedy is resolved. This position was supported by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

"Ukraine will have to meet Polish expectations one way or another. It will not be a member of the EU without Polandʼs consent," he said.

In January of this year, it became known that Ukraine for the first time allowed the exhumation of the bodies of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy. After that, the countries exchanged lists of places where the remains of the bodies would be searched. Polish media wrote that permits for the search and exhumation in Ukraine would be issued separately for each burial site.

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