Search for UPA soldier remains begins in Poland September 30
Search and exhumation work at the site of possible burials of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) soldiers will begin in the village of Yurechkova, Podkarpacie Voivodeship, on the territory of Poland on September 30, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine has said. .
“According to Andriy Nadzhos (Deputy Minister of Culture of Ukraine - IF-U), a new stage of Ukrainian-Polish relations in the field of historical memory began after political agreements between both countries at the highest level, reached at the end of last year. As a result, the parties exchanged lists of places for potential research of historical burials: Poland expressed interest in 13 sites in Ukraine, the Ukrainian side - in four in Poland,” the ministry said in a statement.
It is noted that Ukraine has already granted permits for exhumations in Puzhnyky in the Ternopil region and in Lviv, while Poland has granted permission to study Ukrainian burials in Yurechkov, where a Ukrainian expedition will begin work on September 30.
“Since we are talking about a common history, Ukrainians who have been on Polish soil for a long time also need respect and reburial. This stage is new for us, because for a long time we had neither permits from the Polish side nor the opportunity to start the work ourselves. Therefore, I believe that this is a significant step towards each other for two friendly countries that have a common border and a common goal in this war - victory over the aggressor state. This is precisely where we are strategically united with our Polish colleagues and partners,” the press service quotes Nadzhos as saying.
According to the Deputy Minister, Ukraine provided the Polish side with geolocation data to conduct research based on the memories of witnesses and the testimonies of historians, and the expedition to Yurechkov will be the first attempt to confirm the burial of UPA soldiers at this place.
In turn, the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) Oleksandr Alferov emphasized that this initiative was the result of long-term, almost ten-year efforts of both countries.
“The head of the UINP also noted that the chronology of historical burials is not limited to the period of World War II. There are burials in Ukraine from the 1920s, in particular mass graves of victims of Soviet attacks, where Ukrainians, Poles, Jews and representatives of other nationalities who were part of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are buried side by side,” the report says.
As reported, in early May it became known that the remains of 42 people were discovered at the site of exhumation works in the former village of Puzhnyky in the Ternopil region. On September 6, the bodies were reburied.
A joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition also carried out search and exhumation works in Lviv, during which a mass grave of victims of World War II was discovered.
