The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) said on Wednesday it would start searching in 2025 for the remains of victims of the World War II Volhynia Massacre, in response to appeals from Polish citizens.
The searches are scheduled to take place in the Rivne region of western Ukraine, with Polish representatives invited to participate as observers.
The Volhynia Massacre refers to a series of tragic events during World War II when tens of thousands of Polish civilians were killed by Ukrainian nationalists in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia.
This historical wound has long strained relations between Poland and Ukraine.
UINR head Anton Drobovych stated that the institute remains open to cooperation with Polish institutions in locating, preserving, and caring for sites commemorating both Ukrainians in Poland and Poles in Ukraine.
"If Polish citizens provide us with necessary details about potential search locations, we will strive to assist them despite the ongoing war and challenging economic conditions," Drobovych said.
He added that official mechanisms for resolving contentious issues with Poland have been inactive for some time, particularly joint working groups between memory institutions and ministries responsible for cultural affairs.
"Given this, UINR is willing to directly coordinate search activities at the request of Polish citizens, inviting the Polish side as observers," Drobovych declared.
The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the announcement as "a step in the right direction" but emphasized the need for concrete actions.
Ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński said: "Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has repeatedly stressed in conversations with Ukrainian partners that we expect decisions, not just plans. We hope such a decision will indeed be made."
Wroński told reporters that Sikorski views the matter not as a political dispute but as a "civilizational gesture and a Christian act of remembrance toward the victims of the horrific events in Volhynia."
The UINR stated that the effectiveness of the planned searches would depend on available resources and the limited number of specialists, especially given Russia's ongoing aggression, which requires significant efforts in searching for and exhuming deceased soldiers and civilians.
In June 2022, the Polish and Ukrainian culture ministries signed a memorandum of cooperation on national remembrance. The agreement called for creating a Polish-Ukrainian working group led by deputy culture ministers to collaborate on search, exhumation, burial and commemoration efforts, as well as legal protection of memorial sites.
According to the UINR, Ukraine fulfilled Poland's requests in 2023 by conducting joint studies to identify Polish burial sites in the village of Sadove, located in the Chortkiv district of the Ternopil region. However, the institute said it had not received information about the formation of the Polish side of the working group.
The UINR also argued that while Ukraine has granted permission at least three times since 2019 for Poland to conduct work on Polish memorial sites in Ukraine, its own request to restore a memorial plaque at the burial site of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) soldiers on Mount Monastyr, near the village of Werchrata in Poland's southeastern Podkarpackie province, remains unfulfilled.
The restoration of the plaque, including the names of those buried in the mass grave, was a topic of negotiations between the presidents of both countries.
In September, Polish President Andrzej Duda stated that attempts to block Ukraine's accession to the European Union serve the interests of Vladimir Putin. He made these remarks in response to comments by Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said that Ukraine cannot join the EU without resolving the "Volhynia issue."
Historical matters were also discussed during Polish-Ukrainian intergovernmental consultations earlier in 2024, involving visits by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk to Kyiv and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to Warsaw.
To advance the action plan from these consultations, Ukraine's culture ministry approved its delegation to the joint working group. The UINR said it is awaiting Poland's formation of its counterpart group.
Looking ahead, the UINR plans to publish additional guidelines in Ukrainian and Polish on how to request search and exhumation activities before the spring 2025 season begins.
Progress on divisive historical issues?
During a visit to Kyiv last month, the Polish foreign minister said he had secured commitments from Ukraine "regarding progress on the resumption of exhumations related to the Volhynia Massacre."
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Sikorski said at the time that the exhumations should not be viewed through a political lens.
“The exhumation of the Volhynia Massacre victims is not a political issue or a subject for negotiation," he said.
He added: "Some 100,000 people died. Their remains deserve a Christian burial. This is a moral duty, not a political matter. It’s part of the European value system that Ukraine is part of."
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP