Poland and Ukraine begin the joint exhumation of the victims of the Volinia massacre
Poland and Ukraine have started the joint process exhumation of the victims of the massacre of Volinia of Second World War. This The decision was made in January And he was subsequently confirmed by the Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasile Bodnar and Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Hanna Wróblewska.
The exhumations are performed in western Ukraine, on the site of the old city of Puzniki. There they were killed in 1945 From 70 to 120 people for Army of Ukrainian insurgents (UPA), an ethnic paramilitary force that collaborated with Nazi Germany. Most of the victims were Women and children. This was only one of a series of massacres that took place in Volinia, in the current Ukrainian, after the Second World War. According to historians, about 100,000 Polish civilians were killed. They were also Jewish, Armenian, Russian and Czech victims.
The researchers arrived on the scene at 9 in the morning, now Ukrainian, together with several tons of material. The area, currently uninhabited and covered with forests, is monitored by the police. The process should last about a month. Once the archaeological, anthropological and genetic research is over, The victims will be duly buried. Key issues for inspectors are the demography of the victims, the causes of their death and whether they were violent or not.
THE Masacre di Volinia For a long time, a source of disputes and disputes has been between Poland and Ukraine. Poland officially recognizes it genocidewhich is discussed by Ukraine. Some Ukrainian officials claim that it is the army of Ukrainian insurgents (UPA) and the organization of Ukrainian nationalists (Oun) emerged from resistance to resistance a Soviet Union.
Despite this, many poles continue to support the exhumation and the correct burial of the victims. According to the Institute of National Memory (IPN), these people “still lie in the common tombs in Volinia, waiting to be found, exhumed and buried”.
Diplomatic relations, affected by Volinia
The continuous tensions caused by the historical conflict have also deteriorated the Diplomatic relations between Poland and Ukraine. In June last year, deputy minister Polish, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, said in an interview with the “Pulsat” channel that “Ukraine will not enter the European Union if the issue of Volinia is not resolved”. The leader of the largest opposition party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, of the right and right justice, said the same.
The one long dispute Resumed in 2017, after Ukraine forbidden research and exhumation Polish victims in their territory after the retreat of the UPA monument to Hruszowice (Poland). However, since then both sides have worked to solve the problem.
In July 2023, the presidents Andrzej Duda y Volodímir ŽelenskI They commemorated the 80th anniversary of the massacre that walked next to each other in a commemorative act in Lutsk, in the north -ovest of Ukraine. In January, Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that a joint decision had been made on exhumation.
“Finally, a great progress. There is a decision on the first exhumations of Polish victims of the Army of Ukrainian insurgents. I thank the ministers of the culture of Poland and Ukraine for their good cooperation. We expect new decisions,” Tusk wrote in a post on the X platform.
About a month later, the Minister of National Culture and the Heritage of Poland, Hanna Wróblewska, confirmed that the exhumation would be made. Wróblewska has said that several Polish organizations, including the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, the Institute of National Memory (IPN) and the Medical University of Pomerania in Szczecin, cooperate in the case. However, he added that it must be a joint effort between Poland and Ukraine. “I see goodwill from Ukrainian”The Minister of Culture wrote in an assignment on the X platform.
When both sides began to take measures to resolve the conflict in May 2023, the President of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, transmitted a cooperation message in the Polish Parliament. “With this conscience, we will collaborate with you, dear Polish friends and accept the truth, however compromised it is”Sondchuk said.
For many, however, this is only the Tip to iceberg. “It is a good sign in Polish-Ukraine relations, but obviously it is not a great progress in the event of the application of the requests made by the Polish institutions on the possibility of carrying out research or exhumation works in the territory of the current Ukrainian, especially in those places where the genocide of Volinia was busy”, explains to “Euronews’ Leksperson for the Slicesis, in particular in IP.” from the National Memory Institute I am in suspense in front of the Ukrainian authorities, “he adds.
