Poland called the exhumation in Puzhnyky a "breakthrough" in relations between the two countries
The former village of Puzhnyky (Photo: VLADYSLAV MUSIIENKO/EPA)

The first exhumation work in many years to identify the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Puzhnyky, Ternopil region, is a "breakthrough" in Ukrainian-Polish relations. This opinion was expressed by a member of the Polish parliament, Pawel Kowal, reports Dzieje.pl.

According to Kowal, who also heads the Polish-Ukrainian working group on historical dialogue and is the Polish government's representative for the reconstruction of Ukraine, thanks to the negotiations, "after decades of deadlock," the Ukrainian and Polish sides have found common ground.

"We managed to find a solution by which every Pole, every Ukrainian who wants to find, bury and honor their loved ones will have a direct path to do this, an administrative path. I believe this is a significant event, which is why I use the term: 'breakthrough,'" Kowal said.

He reported that Ukraine has already issued several more permits for the exhumation or search work of Polish victims of Stalinist repressions and the Volyn tragedy.

Koval added that the work in Puzhnyky is being carried out at a high level both in terms of protection from the Ukrainian side and communication.

"All of this requires transparency, but also a certain delicacy. I think that's how it should be," he said.

  • On January 10, Tusk announced the first decisions on the exhumation of Polish victims of the Volhynia tragedy. He called it a breakthrough and said that the Polish side is waiting for further decisions.
  • On January 13, it became known that Ukraine had granted permission to exhume the remains of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy in the Ternopil region.
  • On April 24, work began on the exhumation of the remains of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy, and the removal of the remains began on April 30.
  • On May 4, it was reported that the field stage of the Ukrainian-Polish expedition to search for victims of the Volyn tragedy in the territory of the former village of Puzhnyky in Ternopil region was coming to an end. The remains of 30 people have been found, of which more than 20 have already been exhumed.