Ukraine prepares new permits for search and exhumation of victims of Volyn tragedy

In the near future, Ukraine will issue new permits for search and exhumation work in the Lviv and Rivne regions.

This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Bodnar in a comment to Ukrinform.

In particular, exhumations may be allowed in Huta Peniatska in the Lviv region and in Ugly in the Rivne region. This may happen in the coming weeks.

Bodnar also noted that the search for the bodies of the fallen UPA soldiers in the village of Jureckowo, Podkarpackie Voivodeship of Poland, could last up to three weeks.

According to the diplomat, the Polish side has provided the entire set of actions necessary for the work. The Polish Institute of National Remembrance, local authorities, police and other relevant services are involved in the process.

On September 30, a Ukrainian expedition began search and exhumation work in Poland. It is exploring an area in the middle of a forest in the Carpathian Mountains in the village of Yurechkova. Up to 18 fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army who died in battle with the Polish Peopleʼs Army in 1947 may be buried there.

Relations between Poland and Ukraine in the context of exhumations

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, after Poland recognized the Volyn tragedy as genocide in 2016, discussions intensified.

In response to the mass destruction of Ukrainian monuments in Poland in 2015-2017 and due to the inadequate investigation of these crimes, Ukraine imposed so-called moratoriums on the search and exhumation of the remains of Poles who were killed in 1943-1945 by UPA fighters.

In December 2020, the heads of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and the Institute of National Remembrance of the Republic of Poland agreed to hold consultations to resolve the problematic issues. They developed a draft regulation of the group to resolve them, but Poland has not yet approved it.

In June 2022, the Ministries of Culture of Ukraine and Poland signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of National Remembrance. It provided for the search, exhumation, and burial of victims.

The Memorandum was to come into force after the end of martial law in Ukraine. However, Poland, during the full-scale Russian invasion, constantly raises the issue of searching for and exhuming the graves of Poles in Ukraine.

In 2023, Ukraine went to Poland and conducted joint research with the Poles on the territory of the former village cemetery of the village of Sadove, Chortkiv district, Ternopil region (the former village of Puzhnyky).

At the same time, Poland did not fulfill Ukraineʼs request to restore the memorial plaque at the burial place of UPA soldiers on Monastyr Mountain. The issue of its restoration in its original form, with the names of those buried in this mass grave, was raised at the highest level — the presidents of Ukraine and Poland.

• In January 2025, Ukraine allowed the exhumation of the bodies of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy for the first time. And in May, the exhumation of the victims of 1945 was completed in the Ternopil region — in Poland it was called a breakthrough.
• Polish President Karol Nawrocki looks forward to continuing the partnership between Kyiv and Warsaw.
• However, for this, according to him, some historical issues need to be resolved — most likely, he was referring to the Volyn tragedy.

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