Polish FM welcomes start of Volhynia Massacre victims' exhumations
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski has praised the beginning of exhumation work in the former Polish village of Puzhnyky, now Ukraine, where dozens of Poles were killed by Ukrainian nationalists in February 1945.
This is the first such operation by Polish and Ukrainian teams of forensic experts, archaeologists, geneticists, and anthropologists since Ukraine lifted a ban on the search for and exhumation of Polish war victims' remains.
Talking to the radio broadcaster TOK FM on Friday, Sikorski said that "yesterday, after many years, the exhumations finally started."
"We have found the right formula, that we will not haggle over the dead, that both sides will fulfil their Christian duty, what we must do," he said.
He added that "the Ukrainian side expresses understanding for Polish policy, we are very close allies today."
Puzhnyky, once the Polish village of Puzniki whose remnants are now located in the western Ternopil region of Ukraine, is estimated to have witnessed the brutal killings of between 50 and 120 Poles at the hands of Ukrainian nationalists from the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) on the night of February 12-13, 1945. Families of the victims have been waiting for 80 years for the chance to recover the remains of their relatives.
Warsaw has submitted 13 official requests for exhumations, addressing not only the Volhynia Massacre but also other historical incidents, including Stalinist atrocities and the defensive war of 1939.
For decades, the 1943-1944 Volhynia Massacre, during which Ukrainian nationalists murdered approximately 100,000 Poles, has cast a shadow on Kyiv-Warsaw relations. Ukraine approved the exhumations efforts in January. The Poles view the massacre as a significant, organised and reprehensible crime of genocide, while Ukrainians refer to the events as a "tragedy" stemming from mutual armed and ethnic conflicts, with both sides bearing some responsibility.
Partial funding for the entire search and exhumation process is being provided by Kyiv.
The exhumation process had been at a standstill since 2017 due to a moratorium, which was ultimately lifted in November 2024. (PAP)
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