REMAINS OF 49 VICTIMS OF THE VOLHYNIA MASSACRE DISCOVERED

WARSAW, JULY 28 /SRNA/ - Polish teams have discovered the remains of 49 victims of the Volhynia massacre, who were killed by Ukrainian nationalists 83 years ago and buried in unnamed graves, said Karol Polejowski, deputy president of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance.

The remains were found near the destroyed settlements of Volya Ostrovetska and Ostrovki, in Ukraine’s Volyn region. "Eighty-three years ago, at the end of August, many of our compatriots were killed by Ukrainian nationalists and thrown into unnamed graves. This is the third time we have carried out exhumations at this site. During two weeks of work, the team from the Institute of National Remembrance found the remains of 49 people," Polejowski explained. The mass killing of ethnic Poles, as well as civilians of other nationalities, in the Volhynia region during operations carried out by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army /OUN-UPA/ in 1943 remains one of the most complex issues in Polish-Ukrainian relations. In 2017, Ukraine introduced a moratorium on search and exhumation work at the sites of the Volhynia massacres in response to the demolition of a UPA monument in the Polish town of Hruszowice. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed in January 2025 to allow the exhumation of Poles massacred by Ukrainian nationalists.