The exhumations, which began on April 24, 2025, are taking place in the former village of Puzhnyky in Ukraine’s Ternopil region.
This is where, on the night of February 12-13, 1945, Ukrainian nationalists from the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) perpetrated a brutal massacre of Poles. Families of the victims have been waiting for 80 years for the chance to recover the remains of their relatives.
The operation, which includes forensic experts, archaeologists, geneticists, and anthropologists, is complicated by the difficult terrain of the cemetery, located in a wooded area, which hampers the use of specialized equipment. Around 20 specialists will be working on-site, with an additional 50 people involved in genetic testing.
Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
The search is a joint effort between the Polish Foundation "Freedom and Democracy," the Ukrainian Foundation for Volhynian Antiquities, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), and scientists from the Pomeranian Medical University.
No comments from the scientists and experts conducting the work will be made during the ongoing operations, according to Ukrainian archaeologist Oleksiy Zlatohorsky, who previously told the Polish state news agency PAP that the area will be cordoned off.
Due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the results of the exhumations will be announced after the operation is completed, during a joint press conference between Poland and Ukraine.
A historic moment in Polish-Ukrainian relations
"We've waited for this day for 80 years. Often, it was hard to believe it would ever happen," explains Maciej Dancewicz, Vice President of the 'Wolność i Demokracja' Foundation, in an interview with Polish Radio.
His family lived in Puznyky. "This village, doomed to be forgotten, destroyed so that it would disappear from the map, is now being reborn in human memory," he emphasizes.
Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
Polish scientists working in Puznyky note that the most important task for researchers is to restore the identities of the victims of the Volhynia massacre. The goal is to identify specific individuals by name and ensure they receive a dignified burial.
On Thursday, April 24, 2025, a team of experts began exhuming the remains of Polish victims of the Volhynia massacre in Puzhnyky, a village in western Ukraine, more than 80 years after the tragic event during World War II. Photo: Wojciech Olkusnik/East News
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Source: IAR/PAP/TVN24/X/@nexta_tv/@TVPWorld_com