Ukraine has authorized the exhumation of Polish graves in three regions
The State Interagency Commission for the Commemoration of ATO Participants, War Victims, and Victims of Political Repression has granted permission to conduct exhumation work in the Lviv, Volyn, and Ternopil regions.
This involves the investigation of the graves of Polish military personnel, civilian victims of World War II, and Soviet soldiers.
The Commission approved the exhumation of Polish Army soldiers who died in 1939 and were buried in the former village of Holosko Velyke, which is now part of Lviv.
It also approved research and exhumations at the burial sites of residents of the former Volyn villages of Ostrivka and Volia Ostrovetska, who tragically died in August 1943.
In a separate decision, the commission supported the conduct of DNA testing on the remains of 60 Polish Army soldiers who were reburied in 2015–2016 at the cemetery in the town of Mostyska in Lviv Oblast.
The research should help identify the deceased and clarify historical data regarding the burials.
In addition to the Polish graves, the commission granted permission for exhumation studies of the graves of Soviet servicemen from World War II in the village of Oliiv, Ternopil Oblast.
Oleksandr Alferov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, emphasized that the decisions adopted are of great importance for the development of Ukrainian-Polish relations and the continuation of cooperation in the field of historical memory.
According to him, this involves continuing the dialogue on granting reciprocal permits for search and exhumation work in Ukraine and Poland.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Poland Vasyl Bodnar reported that Kyiv and Warsaw intend to continue joint search and exhumation work aimed at identifying burial sites and honoring the memory of the deceased.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.
Previously, Ukrainian researchers from the “Dolia” Memorial and Search Center in Lviv began exhumation work in the village of Yurkiv (now Yurechkova) in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, who defended local Ukrainians from forced deportation, are likely buried there.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki appealed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch large-scale exhumation efforts for the victims of the Volhynia tragedy.
