Die Ukraine genehmigt weitere Durchsuchungen nach polnischen Opfern des Massakers im Zweiten Weltkrieg

> One is Puzhnyky (known as Puźniki in Polish), a depopulated former village in what is now western Ukraine but which, before the war, was part of Poland. Ukrainian nationalists are believed to have killed between 50 and 135 Poles there on the night of 12/13 February 1945.

>That was the place where, in early 2025, Ukraine first gave permission for exhumations to resume. Subsequently, a joint Polish-Ukrainian team of researchers discovered the remains of at least 42 people, which were then buried in a ceremony attended by both countries’ culture ministers.

Ukraine has granted permission for further searches to take place on its territory for the remains of Polish victims of massacres carried out by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two.

The history of the Volhynia massacres – in which around 100,000 Polish civilians, mostly women and children, were killed – has long caused tension between two otherwise close allies.

But recent years have seen a diplomatic breakthrough on the issue, resulting in the exhumation of victims – previously banned by Ukraine – resuming.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ukraine’s culture ministry announced that it had granted permits for search work to take place in three locations.

One is Puzhnyky (known as Puźniki in Polish), a depopulated former village in what is now western Ukraine but which, before the war, was part of Poland. Ukrainian nationalists are believed to have killed between 50 and 135 Poles there on the night of 12/13 February 1945.

That was the place where, in early 2025, Ukraine first [gave permission](https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/02/06/poland-confirms-details-of-exhumation-of-poles-massacred-by-ukrainians-in-wwii/) for exhumations to resume. Subsequently, a joint Polish-Ukrainian team of researchers [discovered the remains](https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/05/07/exhumation-of-polish-wwii-massacre-victims-in-ukraine-uncovers-remains-of-42-people/) of at least 42 people, which were then [buried in a ceremony](https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/09/06/polish-victims-of-wwii-massacres-by-ukrainian-nationalists-reburied-in-ukraine/) attended by both countries’ culture ministers.

In its announcement this week, the Ukrainian culture ministry said that the newly authorised search will seek to identify another possible burial trench containing further remains. The news was also confirmed by Polish culture minister Marta Cienkowska.

According to the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, a Polish NGO that has led efforts to exhume victims in Puzhnyky, the remains of up to 90 more people may still be buried there.

Its president, Maciej Dancewicz, told broadcaster RMF that work in Puzhnyky will likely resume in the spring. Only once further potential burial sites are discovered can requests be made to Ukraine for further exhumations to take place. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine has granted search permits for two other locations in the Volhynia region, also depopulated former villages that were previously part of Poland and known as Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka.

The ministry did not provide further details about the aim of those searches, but Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka were neighbouring villages where, on 30 August 1943, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) massacred over 1,000 Poles.

Exhumation did previously take place in both places in the 1990s and again in 2011 and 2015, uncovering the remains of hundreds of victims.

It is believed that many more remain buried in unmarked graves. But, in 2017, Ukraine imposed a ban on searches for massacre victims on its territory in response to the dismantlement of a UPA monument in Poland.

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