In Ukraine, the process of exhuming the victims of the Volyn tragedy, which was carried out by a joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition, has been completed. A mass grave was discovered, in which the remains of 42 people were found, including 10 children. About this reported head of the Ukrainian team, archaeologist Alina Kharlamova LLC “Specialized Institution “Volyn Antiquities”.
“During the exhumation process, we found a mass grave where the remains of 42 people were lying. Among them, approximately 10 children. Moreover, three of these children are generally small, under the age of 3. Among the adults, approximately half are women and half are men.”, – noted Alina Kharlamova.
She said that large-scale preparation was carried out before that – eyewitness accounts were collected, historical documents were studied, and search operations were carried out, which eventually allowed the discovery of the burial place. The exhumation itself was carried out at the end of April – beginning of May. The Polish side had lists of persons who were probably buried in this grave, so now it will be possible to establish specific names.
“Genetic testing will be done later and hopefully we will be able to identify the names of the individuals we have found.”, – Kharlamova explained.
The remains are not planned to be transported to Poland – they will be reburied in the same place, in Puzhnyky. According to Alina Kharlamova, this is logical, since these people have lived here all their lives. This is the first exhumation of the victims of the Volyn tragedy in many years. In 2017, Ukraine introduced a moratorium on such works due to tensions in the historical discussions with Poland.
The moratorium was lifted only after an agreement was reached between the foreign ministers of both countries. At the end of November 2024, the heads of foreign affairs of Ukraine and Poland made a joint statement on the issue of exhumations. The Ukrainian side confirmed that there are no longer any obstacles to carrying out such works. This made it possible to start the preparatory stage of exhumation in Puzhny.
